Seven in ten pension transfer requests made in March showed indicators according to the XPS Pension Scam Flag Index.

This is the third consecutive monthly increase in scam warnings.

Scam warnings are now at their highest since December 2020, when 76% of requested transfers showed scam flags.

Helen Cavanagh, client lead, member engagement hub, at XPS Pensions Group, said: “We are continuing to see that the updated transfer regulations are having a significant impact on the volume of scam warning flags that are being observed.

“Whilst the volumes of transfers that are being stopped from proceeding under the regulations are low, many of the flags seen require the member to seek additional scams guidance from MoneyHelper, so there will continue be pressure on the service to provide guidance to all these members in a timely manner.”

Pension transfer activity continued to drop in March.

The XPS Transfer Activity Index fell to an annualised rate of 38 members out of every 10,000 transferring their pensions across the month, down from 40 the previous month.

There was also a fall in the Transfer Value Index. March’s month-end average being £245,000, a fall of 2% compared to February and 9% lower than the peak in November 2021.

XPS said that although inflation expectations increased over March, a continued rise in gilts yields resulted in an overall fall in transfer values.

The XPS Transfer Watch monitors how market developments affect transfer values for an example member, as well as how many members are choosing to take a transfer value. XPS Pensions Group’s Transfer Value Index shows the estimated Cash Transfer Value of a 64-year-old member with a pension of £10,000 a year with typical inflation increases. The value changes over time with market movements. Mortality assumptions are reviewed periodically.

XPS Pensions Group’s Transfer Activity Index represents the annualised proportion of members that transfer out of pension schemes administered by XPS. If replicated across all private sector, funded, UK, DB schemes this indicates that approximately 50,000 DB members leave their schemes each year

XPS Pensions Group’s Scam Flag Index tracks the percentage of monthly transfers reviewed by the businesses’ scam protection service that are identified as having warning ‘flags’ which indicate that the member is at risk of being scammed. The flags monitored include both the DWP’s set list of amber and red warnings and further areas of concern identified and monitored by XPS’ Scam Protection Service.