Pension Lab passes one million Letters of Authority milestone in one year

05 November 2026

• Milestone highlights scale of the information-gathering challenge facing advisers when processing Letters of Authority (LOA).
• Pension Lab database now covers more than 2,500 providers and schemes.
• More than 600 advice firms now using Pension Lab’s digital LoA platform.

Pension Lab has processed more than one million digital Letters of Authority (LoAs) in 12 months, providing fresh insight into the scale of the information-gathering challenge facing UK financial advisers.

The milestone comes as more than 600 advice firms use Pension Lab's digital LoA platform to manage client authority and information requests across pensions, investments and protection. Pension Lab’s provider, platform and scheme database has also expanded to more than 2,500 organisations.

Letters of Authority remain one of the most administratively intensive parts of the advice process, requiring advisers to obtain information from a wide range of providers and schemes through differing processes and service standards. When done manually, LoAs often involve gathering wet signatures from clients, paper & post, scanning & uploading documents, and no progress visibility.

Pension Lab's 2024 What Lies Beneath Letters of Authority research estimated that almost four million LoAs are sent annually across the pensions and investments sector, with advisers spending an average of 65 minutes processing each request, with delays often exceeding 50 working days.

Scott Phillips, chief executive and founder of Pension Lab, said:

“Processing over 80,000 LoAs a month gives us a unique view of this advice process, and behind every request is an adviser trying to build a complete picture of a client's financial position. But too much of that work is still consumed by different admin processes, delays, and poor client experience. One of our advice firms sends almost 400 LoAs every month. To date, they’ve contacted over 2,100 different platforms, providers and schemes to gather client information – demonstrating the scale and complexity of the LoA process. But their average LoA response wait is seven days – a vast improvement on the typical 50 days.

"But there remains a challenge around standards for consistency. Firms, providers and fintechs all benefit when processes are more standardised because it reduces friction and creates a stronger foundation for automation, innovation and competition.”

Alison Hendrick, client services director at Quilter Cheviot, adds:

“LoAs might sound like a relatively small administrative task, but when advisers are dealing with multiple providers on behalf of clients, the time involved can quickly add up. Making that process simpler and more transparent is good for advisers and, ultimately, good for clients, because it means less time spent chasing information and more time spent providing advice.”