Pension scam warning ‘flags’ have climbed to their highest level in nine months, according to an update from pensions consulting and administration business XPS.

It said 92% of cases reviewed by its scam protection service in June raised at least one scam warning flag.

That was the highest level since September 2023, with June being the first month this year to top 90% of cases reviewed raising at least one warning flag.

The Index tracks the percentage of monthly transfers reviewed by XPS’s scam protection service that are identified as having a scam warning ‘flag’ which indicates that the member may be at risk of being scammed. It does not mean a scam has taken place, only that there is a risk of one.

The flags are based on the Pension Scams Industry Group’s Code of Good Practice and include the Red and Amber flags as set out in the Pension Scheme Act 2021 transfer regulations.

XPS’s transfer activity index saw a marginal decrease over June, to an annualised rate of 15 members in every 1,000 transferring their benefits to alternative arrangements. That was the seventh consecutive month the index remained below 20 members per 1,000, compared to just a single occurrence in the prior year. The second quarter of 2024 saw the lowest volume of transfers since the Index was first published.

XPS’s transfer value index held steady in June at £156,000, marking the sixth consecutive month that the index has been at or below £160,000.  

Helen Cavanagh, senior consultant, XPS Group, said: "We have seen yet another quarter of the Transfer Value Index remaining stable, although average transfer values are about 5% lower when compared with the same period last year.

“This decline in transfer values may be contributing to the historically low transfer volumes, with the transfer activity index being lower than ever before over 2024.

“With the new Government in place, we hope to see increased engagement from them on the transfer regulation changes that were discussed with the industry prior to the general election, which could potentially lead to falls in the scam flag index in future.”