Pension transfer values end volatile year 8% up; scam 'red flags' at record high

‘Substantial volatility’

Jenna Brown
clock • 1 min read

Pension transfer values ended 2020 at £259,000, 8% higher than the start of the year, according to XPS Pension Group after suffering periods of substantial volatility linked to the pandemic while potential scams reached record highs.

Despite ending on a high, XPS said transfer activity was down 20% compared to 2019. It said about 75 defined benefit (DB) scheme members transferred in every 1,000 that were eligible. That was down from 96 in the previous year. XPS Transfer Watch monitors transfer values, numbers of DB scheme exits and potential scam activity in the market. Its 'Red Flag' index 'reached a record high in December with 76% of transfers showing at least one warning sign of a potential scam. It said this represented a six-month continuous rise in the number of red flags seen and means that 49% of cases...

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