Self-administered pension funds collected the highest level of contributions at a revised estimate of £17bn in the first quarter of 2012 – representing the highest level since records began in 1992, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found.

In its statistical bulletin, which looks at investments by insurance companies, pension funds and trusts, the ONS’ provisional estimates indicate that in the first quarter of 2012, contributions stood £17bn and in the fourth quarter contributions stood at £12bn – higher than the second and third quarters where the contribution for both periods was £11bn.

The report said that this provided evidence that there would be a “pattern of behaviour for funds to make one-off payments to reduce the deficits in their funds at Q1 and Q4 of a given year, leading to a tendency for the figures for the first and fourth quarters to be higher than those for the other quarters of the year”.

It added: “A possible explanation for this trend is that companies, while compiling their end-of-year accounts, are better placed to determine how much they are able to reduce the gap between the assets and liabilities of their pension funds.”

Overall, the bulletin suggests that the total net investment by insurance companies, pension funds and trusts is estimated to have been £20bn in the fourth quarter of 2012. This is slightly above the five-year average for this quarterly series of £14bn.

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