The DB Pensions Transfer Value Index compiled by XPS Pensions increased by 2.6% during November to £156,000, the biggest increase seen since March.

The FCA’s long-awaited pension transfer rule changes are likely to be pushed back by at least six months in a move described as “very disappointing” by a leading pensions actuary and consultancy firm.

The number of Defined Benefit transfers fell in November as transfer values slipped, according to the latest XPS Transfer Watch.

In the first three and a half years since the Pension Freedoms were introduced in 2015 more than 230,000 members of Defined Benefit schemes have received guidance from a financial adviser.