As I understand it Transferring out is not simple and I would be interested to hear of anyone who has recently managed it.
Getting a transfer out quote is easy. You then have to find an IFA who will give you advice and recommend that you do it. As per above, this costs money upfront and involves lots of form filling.
The main problem is, DB pensions are so attractive that you cannot possibly buy the same pension on the open market with the transfer out price. Therefore, no IFA is going to recommend that you do (unless you have some really good reason (ie going to die soon). You cannot insist the IFA recommends you transfer out because they know that if they recommend you transfer out, and it goes wrong, then you can sue them and they will get massive penalties/fines. Previously the IFA's insurance would probably have paid but the premiums have shot up massively hence why most IFA have pulled out of the business of offering transfer advice as the indemnity insurance costs make it uneconomic.
As per my message, if the IFA says no (very likely) they you can appeal to the Ombudsman and this makes you an "Insistent Client". However, under current regulations the Ombudsman is likely to ignore your request (even though it's your money, your pension) on the grounds that you can't possibly know more than them or the IFA and therefore can't make a proper judgement. This is outrageous as you could argue that going into a gambling den is reckless but it's your money and if you want to do it then so be it.
Therefore, I'd be really interested to hear if anyone has recently (in the last 6 months to a year) who is normally fit and healthy managed to get any IFA to agree that transferring a DB pension out is a good idea and they will put it in writing ?