Retirement income market data 2021/22

We have collected data on the retirement income market since April 2015. The data enables us to monitor developments in the market, for example, to gain insights into what action consumers take the first time they access a pension pot.

Previously published data up to March 2018 is also included in separate tables. The data for these periods was initially drawn from a representative sample of approximately 50 firms. We started collecting data from all regulated firms that provide retirement income products from 1 April 2018. Given the change in the reporting population, we advise users to be careful if comparing this to data before April 2018. Find out more about the source of the data[1].

• What’s included in the data
• Key findings
• Full data tables
• Interactive dashboards[2]
• About the data[1]

What’s included in the data

• Numbers and types of pension plans accessed for the first time.
• Number of plans where the plan holder made a regular or ad hoc partial withdrawal.
• Use of advice when purchasing retirement products.
• Types of annuity options sold.
• Sources of business for retirement product providers.
• Number of defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) pension transfers received.
• Total value withdrawn by Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS) and by all fully encashed plans.

Key findings

• Total number of pension plans accessed for the first time in 2021/22 increased by 18% to 705,666 compared to 2020/21 (596,080).
• All products saw an increase in 2021/22.  Uncrystallised funds pension lump sums (UFPLS) saw the biggest increase of 28% from 28,305 in 2020/21 to 36,274 in 2021/22.
• Drawdowns also saw an increase of 24% from 165,988 in 2020/21 to 205,641 in 2021/22.
• Sales of annuities rose in 2021/22 by 13% (60,383 in 2020/21 to 68,514 in 2021/22).
• The overall value of money being withdrawn from pension pots rose to £45,638m in 2021/22 from £37,432m in 2020/21. An increase of 22%.
• 40% of regular withdrawals were withdrawn at an annual rate of over 8% of the pot value (43% in 2020/21).
• 33.4% of plans accessed for the first time in 2021/22 were accessed by plan holders who took regulated advice (up from 32.7% in 2020/21).
• The number of DB to DC transfers continued to fall from 30,596 in 2020/21 to 26,619 in 2021/22. The number of firms that received a DB to DC pension transfer also fell from 63 to 57.
   

Full data tables

Our downloadable Excel tables[3] contain the data for the latest and previous periods. The data is also displayed in a series of interactive dashboards. 

Copyright

The data on this page is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence[4].