Pension transfer activity fell by nearly 12% during April to an annualised rate of 34 members per 100,000 transferring out of their scheme to an alternative arrangement, according to XPS Pensions Group’s Transfer Activity Index.

This is the lowest level of transfer activity since June 2022.

XPS’s Transfer Value Index fell by nearly 4% during the month, finishing April at £169,000 and returning to a similar level seen in February 2023.

The consultancy primarily attributed the decline to a slight rise in gilt yields in April, coupled with decreasing long-term inflation expectations.

There was an increase in XPS’s Scam Flag Index in April, with 94% of cases reviewed by the XPS Scam Protection Service over the month raising at least one scam warning flag.

This is up from 90% the previous month and is the eleventh month in a row where the index has been 90% or higher.

Pension transfer activity increased from 39 members per 100,000 to 42 per 100,000 in February, before falling in both March and April, to 39 members per 100,000 and 34 members per 100,000 respectively.

Transfer values have remained between £168,000 and £175,000 since the beginning of the year.

The last time XPS’s Scam Flag Index fell below 90% of transfers showing signs of a scam was May 2022, when 83% of transfers raised at least one scam warning flag.

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