Transfer figures soar as £10bn leaves DB schemes in three months

'Intense scrutiny'

Hope William-Smith
clock • 2 min read

Close to £10bn was transferred out of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the last quarter of 2019, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This figures came as part of ONS data released on Monday (29 June) that also showed the total was over £5bn higher for Q4 than in Q3 last year. The ONS data also revealed a total £127bn has now been transferred out of UK occupational schemes since 2015. AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby said: "The scale of individual DB transfer activity in recent years has been staggering, driven by a perfect storm of persistently low gilt yields, the greater flexibility in defined contribution schemes (DC) created by pension freedoms, and uncertainty about the future of many companies sponsoring thes...

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