The Pension Protection Fund reports strong position in Annual Report and Accounts 2015/16

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has reported a strong financial position and healthy balance sheet in its 2015/16 Annual Report and Accounts, published today.

The PPF figures show a £4.1 billion surplus and a funding ratio of 116.3 per cent, putting it in a strong position to face the future.

Despite the BHS pension schemes, a potentially substantial claim, entering the PPF’s assessment period shortly before the year end, the PPF remains robust and capable of protecting members of defined benefit schemes and ensuring they receive compensation.

With the wider economic environment presenting further uncertainty over the past year, the PPF’s award winning investment strategy has delivered positive returns during this time. The PPF now has £23.4 billion in assets.

Andy McKinnon, the PPF’s Chief Financial Officer, said: “We had a successful year despite the challenging economic backdrop. Our robust strategy has put us in a strong position to manage the uncertainties ahead and our long-term risk model predicts that we will achieve financial self-sufficiency by 2030 in 93 per cent of scenarios.

“Members of defined benefit pension schemes in the UK can be reassured that we will protect their financial future should their employer fail.”

Intended to place the financial results in their broader, long term context, the PPF has also published its annual Funding Strategy Update today. This document describes the framework in which the PPF makes its financial decisions and how it assesses financial risks to the fund.

Hans den Boer, the PPF’s Chief Risk Officer, said: “There are clear risks in the current economic environment, which have grown since the end of March point that our modelling is based on, but our funding strategy remains on track and we continue to make good progress against it.”

Highlights

Between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2016:

• New claims on the PPF were low relative to previous years, although the value of claims is higher than last year – 47 new schemes brought combined claims of £475.9m compared to £322.3m in 2014/15. The biggest of these was the BHS pension scheme.
• 10,005 new members entered the PPF in 2015/16, making a total of 225,500 deferred and pensioner members.
• Of the £2.4bn total compensation the PPF has paid since it was established in 2005, £616m was paid out in 2015/16.

Ends

Download the PPF's 2015/16 annual report and accounts

Download the PPF's funding strategy update 2016

Notes to editors

The EU referendum took place since the Annual Report and Accounts was prepared. At this stage, it is not clear what the full consequences of the outcome will be. However, the PPF‘s low-risk approach, hedging strategy and strong balance sheet put it in a good position to cope with any uncertainty or market volatility that follows. The PPF remains confident that it is sufficiently robust to continue to pay compensation to pension scheme members who need it for as long as required.

The Chair of the PPF during the period covered by this Annual Report was Lady Barbara Judge. Arnold Wagner became Chair on 1 July 2016.

The Pension Protection Fund protects millions of people throughout the United Kingdom who belong to defined benefit pension schemes. If their employers go bust, and their pension schemes cannot afford to pay what they promised, the PPF will pay compensation for their lost pensions. Over a hundred thousand people now receive compensation from the PPF and hundreds of thousands more will do so in the future. The PPF is a public corporation, set up by the Pensions Act 2004, and is run by an independent Board.

For further press information contact:
The PPF Press Office
0207 566 9775
[email protected]