Pension transfers: Up to £50bn taken from DB schemes

Research from professional services group Mercer, put together for the FT, found about £50bn has been paid to 210,000 members of company-backed defined benefit pension plans since pension freedom implementation in April 2015.  The freedoms, which gave over-55s unfettered access to their defined contribution pension funds, with no requirement to buy an annuity, prompted demand from members to cash out of their DB plans. But the dash for pension cash has also been spurred by record seven-figure transfer offers made by DB schemes to those giving up their future pension. "The pace of t...