Change of Pension Administrator: frequently asked questions
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FAQs about Change of Administrator
What is happening?
From Monday 3rd November 2025, administration of the Scheme will move from the Consumers’ Association to XPS Group (XPS). As the scheme administrator, XPS will support the day-to-day operations of the Scheme including managing member records, calculating and processing benefit payments, and providing members with information and responding to queries.
Why are you making this change?
It is common now for administration services to be outsourced to a third-party specialist pensions administrator who have access to greater resources, robust processes and modern systems.
The Trustees carried out a rigorous selection process before deciding to appoint XPS. XPS is one of the UK’s leading specialists in pensions, employee benefits and payment expertise. Further information can be found at www.xpsgroup.com.
XPS has been involved with the Scheme for over a decade, providing actuarial services to the Trustees. The Trustees are confident that XPS has the knowledge and skills to continue to administer the Scheme accurately and competently, and to provide a great member experience.
What changes will I see?
From November, any communications about the Scheme, including future annual benefit statements, will be sent by XPS.
Members will be given access to an online portal that will enable them to update their details directly and access detailed information about their pension. XPS will send you details about the portal and how to access it in due course.
If you currently receive a pension from the scheme, there will be no change to your pension benefits as a result of the change of scheme administrator. In October, your pension will be paid by the Consumers’ Association on behalf of the Trustees, in the normal way, directly into your bank account. From November, your pension will be paid by XPS on behalf of the Trustees directly into your bank account.
There will be no change to the Trustees of the Scheme or the structure of the Scheme.
Who do I contact for support?
Prior to Monday 3rd November, please continue to contact the Pensions Team at the Consumers’ Association with any requests you have using the usual contact details.
From Monday 3rd November onwards, you should contact the XPS Administration Team with any requests. XPS will be writing to you nearer the time with their contact details.
To ensure the smooth transfer of all records to XPS, there will be a blackout period from 5pm on Friday 17th October to 9am on Monday 3rd November where it won't be possible to update any member records including contact details or bank account details. Any requests received by the Pensions Team at the Consumers’ Association during this blackout period will be passed to XPS to action.
What will happen to my personal data?
Your personal data will be handled with great care and kept secure during its transfer to XPS, and throughout the ongoing administration of the Scheme.
XPS will be third-party administrators of the Scheme, acting on behalf of the Trustees. The Trustees remain the main Data Controller of your personal data and decide how and why it is used. XPS will process your personal data to provide administration and other services for the Scheme and, in some cases, may act as a Data Controller of your information themselves.
Please see the Trustees' privacy notice - this will be updated when XPS becomes the scheme administrator and XPS's privacy notice for more information.
If you are not a member of a Which? Pension Scheme or have a question about pensions in general, see our Pensions & retirement page.