Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund transfer values have been falling for some time now, after an extended period where they increased substantially.

We've covered this issue in a previous update, but as a reminder, your transfer value represents the value of your defined benefit pension if you were to transfer it out of the scheme and buy a regular income (known as an annuity) from an insurance company. Right now, you get a lot more annuity for your money than you did a couple of years ago, which results in lower transfer transfer values.

And it's not just our scheme. Research from XPS Pensions Group, reported here at Pensions Age magazine, shows that the average transfer value across defined benefit pension schemes like ours has fallen from around £270,000 in December 2021 to around £152,000 at the end of October 2023.

You can take a look at the XPS transfer value tracker here, but remember this is based on multiple transfer values from 100s of schemes and can only provide a retrospective look at the general direction of travel.

If you transfer your benefits out of the scheme, you're required by law to take independent financial advice if the transfer value is over £30,000. And we'd recommend taking it even if your transfer value is lower. We've put in place an independent retirement advice service for members that's provided by WPS Advisory. Find out more about this service, or other sources of help, by heading to the Retirement Planning & Financial Advice page of this website.