Standard Life Aberdeen, Royal London, Prudential and Aviva have been named as among the biggest corporate beneficiaries of the boom in UK pension transfers.
Pensions administrator Broadstone said these are the pension providers that are receiving the bulk of money it processes as people transfer out of their defined benefit pension schemes into defined contribution scheme these companies sell, in analysis first revealed to FTAdviser's sister paper the Financial Times.
Broadstone provides pension administration services to more than 700 small, medium and large UK companies.
Defined benefit (DB) transfers have been soaring, as savers seek to take advantage of sky-high transfer values and to move their nest eggs into defined contribution schemes in order to access them via the pension freedom rules, which were introduced in 2015.
According to figures published by Mercer in April, as much as £50bn has been pulled from final salary pension schemes in the last two years.
Standard Life, which has recently merger with Aberdeen, reported £900m of net flows from DB to defined contribution (DC) in the first six months of the year.
Gross inflows increased by 63 per cent to £6.7bn at the end of June, when compared to the same period in 2016.
A spokesperson at Standard Life Abeerdeen said: "Advisers have been experiencing an increased level of interest in DB to DC transfers.
Our focus has been on helping them streamline their process, introducing a triage service to help them manage inquiries and advise their clients."
Aviva also had a big inflow from these deals, received £750m in the first six months of the year.
DB transfers made up 20 per cent of £3.8bn of gross inflows onto its platforms in the period.
John Lawson, head of financial research at Aviva, said, however, that transfers from DB schemes only represent a small proportion of the provider’s new pensions business.
Mr Lawson welcomed the fact that the Financial Conduct Authority “is consulting in this area and also conducting some audit activity”.
He said: “Our advised platform is very competitively priced, so customers using our platform for pensions are getting a good deal, relative to other pensions available in the market.
“Whether transferring from a defined benefit scheme is in their best interests is a matter for the client and their adviser.”
However, not all these insurers reveal their transfer numbers.
Royal London only reported that its individual pensions and drawdown new business sales were up by 64 per cent to £2,9bn, when compared to the same period in 2016.
Sir Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London, said that "impartial advisers" are regularly choosing the provider's products as the destination of their pension funds when a transfer goes ahead.
He said: "We spend quite a lot of time supporting advisers, helping make sure they are up-to-speed on the latest regulatory changes so that the quality of advice is as good as possible."
Prudential saw its new business profits rise by 29 per cent, reflecting growth in flexible personal pensions, the provider said.
A spokesperson for the provider declined to comment on Broadstone's data, saying that the company doesn't disclose transfers inflows.
DB transfers are a matter of concern for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Earlier this month, the regulator revealed that advice in more than half of the transfers where the recommendation was to move the retirement pot was unsuitable or unclear.
From a total of 88 DB transfers analysed by the watchdog since October 2015, only 47 per cent were suitable.
The FCA found that 17 per cent were unsuitable and in the remaining 36 per cent suitability was unclear.
At the start of the year, the FCA expressed concern about the processes advice firms were using when recommending DB pension transfers.
The regulator published a paper on this matter in June, when it opened a consultation, which closed on 21 September.
A policy statement is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2018.
maria.espadinha@ft.com
