Only a quarter (26 per cent) of defined benefit pension transfer quotes issued in the third quarter of 2018 have been taken up, the lowest rate since the same period in 2016, according to new figures from LCP.
The consultancy firm, which provides quarterly analysis on DB transfers in the 76 schemes for which it provides pensions administration services, stated this figure represents a fall from the previous quarter when 30 per cent of transfers went ahead.
It was also much lower than the previous high of 34 per cent in the third quarter of 2017.
The data shows take-up rates continue to be highest for transfer worth more than £250,000, with 39 per cent of the quotations going ahead in the third quarter of 2018.
The average transfer value in the year to the end of September 2018 was £411,000, more than the average price of a house in the UK, the firm stated.
In the year to March 2019, LCP provided transfer value quotations to 6 per cent of deferred members, with a value of £572m in total.
This compares with 8 per cent and £724m for the year to March 2018, the firm added.
Several pension providers have been registering a decline in pension transfer activity in recent months.
AJ Bell stated this morning it had received £500m of inflows from these transactions in the six months to the end of March 2019, compared with £1.1bn in the same six-month period a year earlier.
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, funds transferred out of pension schemes decreased 10.5 per cent to £33bn in 2018, when compared with the previous year.
FTAdviser reported in August that new rules for advice in this sector introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority in October – such as the introduction of a transfer value comparator - were expected to prevent more savers from cashing in their pensions.
maria.espadinha@ft.com
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