The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has announced changes to its methodology for calculating the PPF 7800 index, which estimates the funding position of eligible defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The revised approach, implemented in December 2024, utilises more granular asset allocation data from The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and incorporates estimates of scheme cashflows. This refinement has led to a downward revision in the estimated aggregate funding position. The latest figures reveal a £235,5 billion surplus across the universe of 4,969 schemes, with a funding ratio of 125,7%. Despite a slight 0,3 percentage point decrease in the funding ratio, the overall surplus increased by £1,5 billion from the previous month, driven by rising equity indices and falling bond yields.

Law360: The pensions compensation programme has confirmed that former employees of Norton Motorcycles will get top-up payments soon, after they were left financially disadvantaged when an executive siphoned off funds from a staff retirement savings plan.

Law360: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) said that plans to give it a new role as a consolidator of smaller retirement schemes could result in an additional £10bn being ploughed into UK growth assets.

Law360: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has said that it is likely to maintain its £100m levy on the sector for the next financial year, as analysts call for legislative change that would allow the redress programme to lower it further.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) published its June 2025 update to the PPF 7800 index, an official statistic measuring the estimated funding position of all eligible defined benefit pension schemes on a section 179 basis. The report, delivered by Shalin Bhagwan, the PPF’s Chief Actuary, showed that the aggregate surplus of these schemes rose by £18.6bn to £221.1bn, with the funding ratio increasing by 2.8 percentage points to 125.6%. This improvement was driven by a rebound in equity markets, particularly linked to US progress on trade talks with the UK, which partly offset falls in bond asset values caused by rising government bond yields amid concerns over heavy government borrowing. Total scheme assets slightly decreased by 0.5% to £1,083.6bn, while liabilities fell by 2.8% to £862.5 bn. The number of schemes remained unchanged at 4,969, with the deficit among schemes in deficit narrowing by £2.2bn to £30.9bn.

Law360: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) published its three year strategy for 2025-28 on 3 April 2025 and outlined that the 'time is right' to review a range of key areas of its governing legislation, including how it sets its levy and the rules on indexation levels including for pre-1997 pensions.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has submitted its formal response to the government's call for evidence on the Pension Schemes Bill, which is set to be considered in Committee from 2 September 2025. The PPF welcomes the opportunity to support the Public Bill Committee’s examination of the Bill, noting that it contains measures beneficial to both PPF and Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) members, as well as levy payers. It also acknowledges that some concerns raised by stakeholders fall outside the current scope of the Bill but may be addressed during its passage through Parliament. The PPF response is divided into three sections: provisions specific to the PPF, broader defined benefit (DB) pension measures, and other topical issues relevant to the PPF.

Law360: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) said on 20 March 2024 that it expects to pay up to £416.7m in compensation to members of pension schemes that have been hit by scams.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has published its response to the consultation on updated actuarial assumptions for valuations carried out under sections 143 and 179 of the Pensions Act 2004.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has updated its valuation guidance documents to make provision for the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL(RR)A 2023) and the Pensions Act 2004 (Amendment) (Pension Protection Fund Compensation) Regulations 2023, SI 2023/1309 (the Regulations) which affects how the judgments of Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein VVaG v Gunther Bauer (Bauer) (C168/18) and Grenville Hampshire v The Board of the Pension Protection Fund (Hampshire) (C-17/17) are incorporated into PPF compensation for schemes that enter an assessment period on or after 2 January 2024. Guidance for actuaries carrying out valuations under sections 143, 152 and 156 of the Pensions Act 2004 (PA 2004) (version H8, D5 and C5 respectively) and its supplementary information note, alongside the guidance for those undertaking a valuation under PA 2004, s 179 (version G10) and the statement on how PPF will make a funding determination (version F3) have all been updated. These are effective from 1 January 2024.

Pensions analysis: The PPF has recently concluded its consultation on its levy for 2025/26. The most significant change from the consultation is that they are using a much lower estimated total levy amount of £45m. This has coincided with the Department for Work and Pensions announcing that it is looking to amend the rules around the limits to changes that the PPF can make to its levy. The PPF has asserted that it is those rules that have prevented it lowering its levy further. As a result, and depending on the changes that the DWP makes, there remains the possibility that it will fall further in later years, even possibly to zero at some point.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), Office for National Statistics (ONS), and the Pensions Regulator (TPR) have collaboratively published a joint statement addressing discrepancies in defined benefit (DB) pension scheme funding data. This initiative, prompted by a recommendation from the Work and Pensions Committee, aims to clarify the different approaches to data collection and processing employed by each organisation. The statement highlights recent methodological changes implemented by the PPF and TPR in calculating scheme funding data. These coordinated efforts are expected to yield greater alignment in future datasets, enhancing the consistency and reliability of DB pension scheme funding information for industry stakeholders and policymakers.