Origo first launched the Options service in late 2008 to accelerate pension transfers at the annuity stage. The service was subsequently extended to include pension-to-pension transfers and now offers re-registration. Thanks to Origo's Options Transfers service, what was once a manually-intensive, paper-based and costly process is now an efficient, secure, online service, handling tens of thousands of transactions.

Paul Pettitt, managing director of Origo, commented, "It's great to have Cofunds, AJ Bell, Fidelity and Suffolk Life on board as the latest platform providers to join Origo's Options Transfers service. Since its launch in 2008, the success of Options has enabled the industry to significantly reduce transfer times, helping deliver on providers' and platforms' commitment to Treating Customers Fairly (TCF). An 80% reduction in transfer timescales coupled with our experience in industry collaboration puts us in good stead going forward."

Verona Smith, Head of Proposition at Cofunds commented, "Retirement planning is at the very heart of a platform proposition, so joining Origo's Options Transfers service is a big step forward for Cofunds and our clients. It offers huge benefits for advisers and their own clients as it could shave days and even perhaps weeks off the time it takes to transfer a pension. With an average transfer time of 11 days, advisers will be able to offer a quicker and more efficient service to their clients."