Pension transfer values fell by around 4% in February 2023, according to XPS Pension Group.
The firm’s transfer value index saw values end February at £168,000, the lowest month-end value since the index’s records began in June 2016.
The decrease was primarily led by “a steady rise in gilt yields throughout February”, the firm said, noting that long-term inflation expectations have been largely stable over recent months.
This comes several months after XPS reported that DB transfer values plummeted 37% in 2022.
XPS’s transfer activity index increased only slightly during February, showing an annualised rate of 42 members per 100,000 transferring out of the current scheme to an alternative arrangement.
The firm said this was consistent with activity in 2022, suggesting a stabilisation in transfer rates.
Some 92% of cases reviewed by the XPS Scam Protection Service in February raised at least one scam warning flag, according to XPS’s Scam Flag Index.
This shows a slight fall from the previous three months, although the index has consistently remained above 90% since June 2022.
