DB transfer values fell 8% in the second quarter, according to the latest data from XPS Pensions Group.

XPS’s Transfer Value Index ended June at £162,000, a fall of 8%.

The drop was largely due to rises in gilt yields over the period.

XPS Pensions Group’s Transfer Value Index shows the estimated Cash Transfer Value of a 64-year-old member with a pension of £10,000 a year with typical inflation increases.

XPS’s Transfer Activity Index also fell to an annual rate of 25 members in every 1,000, the lowest recorded rate of transfers since the index began.

The average age of transferring members in Q2 was 58, up from an average of 56 in 2019. This continues the rise seen in recent years and highlights that most transferring members are doing so as part of a retirement decision.

Mark Barlow, head of member options at XPS Pensions Group, said: “With continued falls in transfer values seen this quarter, it’s unsurprising that fewer members are taking the decision to transfer their pension. However, we are still seeing members investigating transfers as part of their retirement planning, particularly since annuity rates have improved so substantially.”

A high number of DB transfers continued to raise scam warnings in June.

Some 95% of cases reviewed by the XPS Scam Protection Service in June raised at least one scam warning flag, the highest rate in 2023 so far.

XPS Pensions Group’s Scam Flag Index tracks the percentage of monthly transfers reviewed by the businesses’ scam protection service that are identified as having warning ‘flags’ which indicate that the member is at risk of being scammed.