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Occupational defined benefit scheme funding analysis 2024 annex

Annex: Valuations and recovery plans of UK defined benefit and hybrid pension schemes.

Published: 24 September 2024

Data

The data contained in this statistical release was submitted by schemes to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) in triennial valuation summaries, their associated recovery plans, and annual scheme returns.

The data set builds on previous releases and includes tranche 17 valuations and associated recovery plans received up to July 2024. It also includes data on schemes in surplus for all tranches up to tranche 17.

Tranche 17 is the second tranche of the sixth cycle of the Scheme Funding Regime, generally reflecting the sixth valuation of this cohort of schemes. Table 1.1 details which tranche of schemes belong in which funding cycle. Tranche 17 belongs in the same cohort as trances 14, 11, 8, 5 and 2. However, these cohorts do not contain exactly the same schemes.

There are a few reasons why this may be the case, including the following.

  • Some schemes carry out valuations more frequently than every three years and so may not be in the same cohorts.
  • If a scheme is late in submitting the results of the valuation to us, or have not yet agreed it for whatever reason.
  • Where a scheme has wound up or is in the process of winding up, or a scheme is new (for example as a result of reorganisations, merges or transferring all members to a new scheme).
  • Where a scheme has transferred to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

Base data varies slightly in different sections as a result of data coverage, validation, and cleaning.

The data set counts each segregated section of assets and liabilities as a separate scheme for the purpose of these funding statistics. Therefore, each ‘scheme’ in this data may represent a pension scheme with a single section, or a segregated section within a sectionalised pension scheme. The remainder of this publication uses ‘scheme’ as shorthand for ‘scheme or segregated section’.

The data set counts all memberships in schemes with a promise to a pension. As some individuals may have a number of pension entitlements spread over a number of schemes, they may be included more than once in the total memberships under consideration.

The summaries on mortality assumptions are based on current male pensioners aged 65 only, unless otherwise stated.

Methodology

Weighted averages are weighted by TPs. Where ‘average’ is used in the report, it refers to the mean.

Owing to the scheme-specific nature of the data, individual data points cannot be presented. As such, data distributions start and end at the 5th and 95th percentiles respectively, and in some instances group ranges have been broadened to include figures comprising fewer than 10 observations.

Figure totals may reflect rounding.

Maturity is measured as the ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs.

The discount rate assumption is reported in one of two formats:

  • a single investment return
  • different investment returns for pre-retirement and post-retirement benefits

For the purposes of comparison, in instances where different rates have been reported, a single effective discount rate (SEDR) is calculated. This is based on the single rate or, where a different rates approach has been adopted, constructed from both the pre- and post-retirement rates. This is calculated using the following equation of value:

(ActiveLiabilities)×(1+Pre−retirementDiscountRate)ActivePre−retirementDuration×(1+Post−retirementDiscountRate)ActivePost−retirementDuration

+(DeferredLiabilities)×(1+Pre−retirementDiscountRate)DeferredPre−retirementDuration×(1+Post−retirementDiscountRate)DeferredPost−retirementDuration

+(PensionerLiabilities)×(1+PensionerDiscountRate)PensionerDuration

=(TotalLiabilities)×(1+SEDR)TotalDuration

The duration parameters used in the above formula are estimated on a scheme by scheme basis, using data provided to us in the annual scheme return and valuation returns. Using the above formula the SEDR has been calculated for all schemes (schemes in deficit only for tranches 1-7; all schemes for tranches 8-17), and as such historical positions will differ to earlier publications.

Average annual deficit reduction contributions (DRCs) summarised in Table 3.4 are calculated as the average of DRCs over the first four years of the recovery plan.

The outperformance of the SEDR is calculated using different 20-year gilts (nominal and real) to previous editions. As a result, the levels of outperformance assumed will differ to those shown in previous reports.

Covenant Groups (1-4) are assigned at the point of initial recovery plan reviews to facilitate prioritisation. These grades may vary to the view taken during case-level intervention, where a wider range of information is taken into account. They are defined as:

  • Covenant Group 1: Strong
  • Covenant Group 2: Tending to strong
  • Covenant Group 3: Tending to weak
  • Covenant Group 4: Weak

Covenant assessments are not usually undertaken for schemes in surplus.

Schemes in the data set

Table 1.1: number of valuations analysed by cycle and tranche (schemes in surplus and deficit, all tranches)

Cycle Tranche Valuation period Number of RPs analysed Number of surplus valuations analysed
1 1 22 September 2005 to 21 September 2006 2,127 435
1 2 22 September 2006 to 21 September 2007 1,888 463
1 3 22 September 2007 to 21 September 2008 1,840 422
2 4 22 September 2008 to 21 September 2009 2,048 156
2 5 22 September 2009 to 21 September 2010 1,937 252
2 6 22 September 2010 to 21 September 2011 1,652 445
3 7 22 September 2011 to 21 September 2012 1,770 221
3 8 22 September 2012 to 21 September 2013 1,726 271
3 9 22 September 2013 to 21 September 2014 1,530 482
4 10 22 September 2014 to 21 September 2015 1,403 432
4 11 22 September 2015 to 21 September 2016 1,462 358
4 12 22 September 2016 to 21 September 2017 1,481 460
5 13 22 September 2017 to 21 September 2018 1,112 658
5 14 22 September 2018 to 21 September 2019 1,180 547
5 15 22 September 2019 to 21 September 2020 1,288 474
6 16 22 September 2020 to 21 September 2021 1,055 668
6 17 22 September 2021 to 21 September 2022 859 777

This data set comprises schemes that have submitted recovery plans (that is, schemes in deficit on the TPs funding basis as at their valuation date) as well as schemes in surplus. By July 2024, we had received 859 recovery plans and 777 valuations in respect of schemes reporting a surplus.

70.8% of schemes with tranche 17 valuations also reported valuations in tranche 14, 11, 8, 5 and 2.

Table 1.2a: Concentration by scheme characteristics (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche (percentage of schemes)

Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 33.2 34.0 34.1 32.0 34.6 36.5 34.4 35.0 35.1 34.5 36.1 36.0 34.7 37.5 35.8 35.9 37.9
100 to fewer than 500 members 34.0 36.1 34.1 33.0 34.7 34.7 32.8 34.7 34.8 31.7 33.8 35.3 31.2 34.1 35.4 31.2 34.5
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 11.1 10.3 12.0 11.9 10.9 9.9 11.1 10.5 10.1 11.7 10.3 9.5 12.4 9.1 9.7 11.5 9.2
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 14.5 12.6 13.7 15.0 12.8 13.2 14.0 12.7 13.8 14.1 12.9 13.4 14.2 12.4 13.4 14.0 12.3
5,000 members or more 7.1 6.9 6.2 8.2 7.0 5.6 7.8 7.1 6.0 8.0 6.9 5.8 7.5 6.8 5.6 7.3 6.1
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 31.1 31.8 28.4 27.4 27.8 26.0 23.5 23.6 21.3 21.7 21.4 18.8 20.3 19.5 16.4 18.5 19.9
£5m to less than £20m 28.7 31.1 29.8 28.2 29.8 29.2 24.8 26.9 29.0 23.1 26.0 26.0 21.3 25.0 25.4 21.8 23.9
£20m to less than £100m 24.9 23.0 26.4 25.6 25.2 26.5 28.6 27.9 28.5 28.2 28.1 29.9 29.4 29.0 31.0 28.5 30.2
£100m to less than £300m 7.7 7.1 8.7 9.9 8.6 10.9 12.4 10.4 12.2 14.3 11.7 13.5 14.8 12.6 14.5 15.6 12.4
£300m or greater 7.7 7.0 6.7 8.9 8.6 7.3 10.7 11.3 9.1 12.6 12.7 11.7 14.1 13.8 12.6 15.6 13.7
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 47.2 46.4 40.5 38.2 36.5 30.5 30.2 29.0 25.1 26.9 24.2 21.9 21.7 19.7 16.0 16.9 14.5
25% to less than 50% 36.6 37.7 42.1 40.1 42.3 45.7 42.1 44.3 44.3 42.4 44.1 45.1 42.7 41.6 41.3 40.3 39.4
50% to less than 75% 14.4 13.7 15.3 18.9 18.6 20.7 24.1 23.7 26.7 26.7 27.0 28.0 30.3 32.7 36.3 35.9 37.7
75% or greater 1.8 2.2 2.1 2.7 2.7 3.2 3.6 3.0 3.9 4.0 4.7 5.0 5.4 6.0 6.4 6.9 8.4
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 78.1 73.7 71.5 67.8 63.5 61.0 55.8 51.5 52.7 45.7 43.5 42.7 37.1 34.7 38.0 29.9 29.5
TPs not reported for active members 21.9 26.3 28.5 32.2 36.5 39.0 44.2 48.5 47.3 54.3 56.5 57.3 62.9 65.3 62.0 70.1 70.5
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             21.8 18.0 16.7 11.4 11.4 11.0 13.0 22.6 22.8 19.3 17.6
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             37.4 33.1 38.2 46.8 47.8 44.8 42.8 37.8 38.8 40.3 42.6
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             22.2 25.0 21.8 28.1 27.4 29.6 28.7 25.6 21.7 22.4 22.9
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             18.7 23.9 23.3 13.6 13.3 14.6 15.6 14.1 16.7 17.9 16.9
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 25.5 29.2 25.1 18.3 26.0 32.7 28.3 29.1 34.4 38.9 34.1 39.6 47.3 50.0 50.2 55.2 67.9
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 14.4 17.6 15.1 14.9 19.0 19.6 21.1 18.1 19.4 20.5 19.4 19.7 21.4 22.7 22.6 22.7 16.6
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 41.5 39.3 38.0 32.1 28.9 23.0 20.4 23.0 19.0 15.1 21.3 19.7 15.4 12.5 14.8 11.4 7.9
10 years or more 18.6 13.9 21.9 34.7 26.2 24.7 30.1 29.8 27.2 25.6 25.3 21.0 15.9 14.9 12.4 10.7 7.6
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       84.6 79.7 82.0 78.9 80.7 83.3 81.8 81.1 82.8 82.1 84.1 81.7 84.3 88.6
At least one contingent asset       15.4 20.3 18.0 21.1 19.3 16.7 18.2 18.9 17.2 17.9 15.9 18.3 15.7 11.4
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 18.3 12.5 14.1 42.8 19.8 11.7 22.4 20.7 9.8 11.1 13.0 12.3 8.5 10.7 12.8 8.4 5.2
70% to less than 80% 21.3 18.6 21.1 26.3 24.5 17.8 25.2 23.2 14.6 15.5 17.0 14.9 11.8 11.8 15.2 9.8 8.6
80% to less than 90% 26.4 26.5 25.1 15.6 27.6 25.5 26.5 24.4 24.2 24.9 26.5 23.2 17.2 20.0 20.9 17.1 13.8
90% to less than 100% 18.4 23.0 21.2 8.4 16.7 23.8 14.9 18.1 27.5 25.0 23.9 25.9 25.3 25.8 24.1 26.0 24.3
100% or greater 15.6 19.3 18.5 6.8 11.5 21.2 11.1 13.5 24.0 23.5 19.7 23.7 37.2 31.7 26.9 38.8 48.0

Table 1.2b: Distribution of members and liabilities across covenant groups (schemes in deficit only)

Tranches 15, 16 and 17

Covenant groups (schemes in deficit only) Members (%) Assets for Part 3 (TPs) valuation (%) Technical provisions (%) Buyout liabilities (%) s179 liabilities (%)
Covenant group 1 (Strong) 26.0 21.6 21.1 23.0 21.1
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong) 50.5 53.3 53.3 49.1 54.7
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak) 14.5 17.1 17.3 18.8 16.2
Covenant group 4 (Weak) 8.9 8.0 8.3 9.1 8.0

Coverage: approximately 95% of schemes in deficit for tranches 15, 16 and 17 combined.

Table 1.2c: Distribution of schemes and memberships across TPs funding levels (schemes in surplus and deficit, tranches 15, 16 and 17)

Funding level (TPs) Schemes (%) Members (%)
Less than 50% 1.9 0.3
50% to less than 60% 2.4 0.7
60% to less than 70% 5.0 1.4
70% to less than 80% 11.2 4.1
80% to less than 90% 17.3 21.1
90% to less than 100% 24.7 23.0
100% to less than 110% 24.6 36.9
110% to less than 120% 8.0 11.4
120% or greater 4.9 1.1

Table 1.2d: Concentration of memberships by scheme characteristics (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche (percentage of memberships)

Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8 0.6 1.0 0.7 0.7 1.0
100 to fewer than 500 members 3.5 4.6 4.4 3.0 4.6 4.4 3.7 4.7 4.1 3.7 4.7 4.0 3.3 5.3 3.9 3.8 5.1
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 3.5 3.8 4.5 3.3 4.2 3.7 3.8 4.2 3.5 4.0 4.1 3.2 3.8 4.1 3.2 4.1 4.0
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 14.0 15.0 16.9 12.3 16.0 16.2 13.9 16.6 15.6 14.8 17.0 14.3 13.9 18.1 14.3 15.5 18.2
5,000 members or more 78.3 75.8 73.4 80.8 74.4 74.9 78.0 73.7 76.0 76.7 73.3 77.7 78.5 71.5 77.9 75.9 71.7
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 1.2 3.1 1.3 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.9
£5m to less than £20m 3.4 4.4 3.4 2.5 3.0 2.3 1.9 2.6 2.0 1.4 1.8 1.5 1.0 1.6 1.2 1.0 1.4
£20m to less than £100m 11.0 11.6 10.3 7.3 9.2 7.9 6.7 7.6 6.7 6.0 6.3 4.9 4.8 6.2 4.5 4.4 5.7
£100m to less than £300m 10.8 10.2 15.4 10.1 11.0 12.8 9.6 9.2 10.4 9.3 9.7 8.3 7.5 9.0 7.5 7.6 7.8
£300m or greater 73.7 70.7 69.5 79.2 76.0 76.3 81.4 79.9 80.4 82.9 81.7 85.0 86.2 82.8 86.6 86.7 84.2
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 14.8 14.9 20.2 16.4 9.3 5.9 6.2 8.4 13.6 19.7 7.9 5.0 15.5 7.9 4.6 15.3 6.3
25% to less than 50% 46.2 51.4 49.6 44.5 49.4 59.2 47.1 49.7 52.2 47.7 52.4 65.4 51.5 52.4 52.9 41.6 50.8
50% to less than 75% 37.8 31.6 27.5 37.8 39.5 32.9 43.8 40.0 32.3 31.9 37.0 27.8 31.6 35.6 41.0 39.0 38.7
75% or greater 1.3 2.1 2.7 1.3 1.8 2.1 3.0 1.9 1.9 0.7 2.7 1.7 1.4 4.1 1.6 4.1 4.3
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 97.5 95.1 93.9 90.8 89.8 88.2 79.7 74.7 82.7 68.5 66.6 70.9 62.1 53.4 67.3 47.1 39.2
TPs not reported for active members 2.5 4.9 6.1 9.2 10.2 11.8 20.3 25.3 17.3 31.5 33.4 29.1 37.9 46.6 32.7 52.9 60.8
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             36.9 23.9 36.8 14.9 19.9 16.6 8.5 27.3 26.6 17.4 38.2
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             33.0 41.4 40.9 42.3 45.1 53.8 54.3 43.5 55.2 50.2 34.0
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             18.9 20.0 15.8 24.1 29.6 24.4 19.2 24.3 11.3 19.9 17.6
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             11.2 14.7 6.4 18.7 5.4 5.2 18.0 4.9 7.0 12.5 10.1
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 17.0 32.8 25.7 7.1 15.2 16.6 13.6 23.3 17.5 19.7 18.4 19.7 32.0 47.1 39.8 49.5 70.9
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 13.9 18.6 18.1 9.0 17.1 21.4 30.9 12.9 17.6 22.2 22.8 20.3 17.1 29.2 18.6 23.6 18.0
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 43.7 38.1 31.7 28.5 39.9 29.8 23.8 34.2 24.9 30.8 25.7 32.4 40.3 14.9 14.3 20.6 7.5
10 years or more 25.5 10.5 24.4 55.4 27.8 32.3 31.7 29.6 40.0 27.3 33.1 27.7 10.6 8.8 27.3 6.3 3.6
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       63.5 56.2 50.7 64.2 61.7 65.1 68.5 64.1 61.6 79.1 65.8 59.2 76.5 78.9
At least one contingent asset       36.5 43.8 49.3 35.8 38.3 34.9 31.5 35.9 38.4 20.9 34.2 40.8 23.5 21.1
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 5.5 3.6 4.9 31.7 8.2 3.1 10.1 7.5 2.9 4.3 4.8 2.7 2.2 3.9 2.5 2.7 1.2
70% to less than 80% 13.1 8.7 18.6 33.8 23.9 17.7 20.1 21.1 15.7 12.1 9.8 5.6 6.7 4.9 4.6 4.5 3.0
80% to less than 90% 34.4 23.5 23.0 14.9 39.0 29.1 28.0 37.3 44.3 21.2 36.1 52.6 12.3 14.7 43.3 8.9 5.7
90% to less than 100% 31.3 42.4 26.9 15.9 21.8 39.0 32.3 27.3 22.8 40.6 32.9 18.1 46.2 39.7 27.6 21.1 19.1
100% or greater 15.6 21.7 26.6 3.7 7.1 11.1 9.6 6.8 14.3 21.8 16.4 21.0 32.6 36.9 22.0 62.8 71.0

Funding and other security arrangements

Table 2.1a: Key average funding ratios (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Unweighted average (%) - Tranche

Ratio of assets to:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Technical provisions 79.8 82.3 81.3 71.3 79.0 82.3 78.4 82.2 89.4 88.6 87.0 88.8 93.5 91.6 89.0 93.7 97.2
s.179 liabilities 83.9 93.5 90.1 76.1 92.7 93.9 80.4 84.2 95.7 89.4 86.9 90.0 97.3 97.5 92.0 101.4 112.7
Buyout liabilities 53.4 58.0 60.4 51.4 57.7 58.7 55.5 58.3 63.8 61.0 60.3 61.2 68.7 69.8 68.4 74.5 80.2
Ratio of TPs to:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
s.179 liabilities 105.0 113.5 110.7 101.5 112.3 109.7 99.9 98.6 102.5 96.9 95.8 96.9 100.0 102.9 99.4 105.3 113.5
Buyout liabilities 66.9 70.3 74.5 71.9 72.9 71.3 70.7 70.9 71.5 68.9 69.2 68.8 73.5 75.8 76.4 79.4 82.4

Table 2.1b: Key weighted average funding ratios (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Weighted average (%) - Tranche

Ratio of assets to:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Technical provisions 85.8 88.8 83.9 74.4 83.1 86.7 84.1 84.8 89.2 90.9 89.0 90.5 96.4 96.0 93.7 99.2 102.4
s.179 liabilities 92.7 105.2 96.3 79.7 100.6 97.8 89.1 90.9 95.3 94.8 93.7 94.3 102.6 105.5 99.6 109.4 121.1
Buyout liabilities 60.8 66.7 66.8 55.2 62.1 62.7 60.6 60.6 64.1 64.1 62.4 64.5 71.8 75.4 75.7 80.4 86.0
Ratio of TPs to:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
s.179 liabilities 108.2 118.6 114.8 105.8 121.8 114.4 109.4 111.4 109.9 106.4 106.8 105.4 106.9 111.1 108.3 111.1 120.2
Buyout liabilities 70.8 75.0 79.9 74.1 74.4 72.2 72.1 71.2 71.8 70.3 70.0 71.1 74.1 78.2 80.5 81.1 83.9

Table 2.2: Distribution of key funding ratios on various bases (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche

Ratio of assets to TPs:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 97.3 98.0 97.5 93.2 96.3 98.1 97.7 107.0 113.9 112.7 111.1 113.3 118.8 115.5 113.4 117.8 121.1
Upper quartile 89.0 91.1 90.4 80.2 88.0 91.3 87.6 92.5 99.0 98.4 97.1 99.2 103.7 101.6 100.3 103.2 105.8
Median 81.3 84.1 82.6 71.3 80.1 84.2 79.3 82.2 90.1 89.3 87.3 89.6 95.1 92.6 90.4 95.4 98.9
Lower quartile 71.8 75.5 74.2 62.2 71.4 75.5 70.1 72.2 80.1 79.0 77.7 78.6 82.9 81.7 78.2 84.4 88.4
5th percentile 57.5 61.4 60.3 50.6 57.6 61.1 55.2 56.0 62.5 62.7 60.1 60.3 65.1 62.9 59.2 64.0 69.8
Ratio of assets to s.179 liabilities:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 121.5 132.9 127.0 115 130.2 131.9 119.7 126.4 141.5 133.6 130.3 137.5 143.9 143.4 140.0 146.0 158.0
Upper quartile 94.5 106.0 101.4 88.1 104.6 105.4 92.4 97.6 110.0 102.9 100.6 104.8 113.2 113.2 108.9 118.2 130.1
Median 81.3 90.8 88.4 72.1 90.9 91.6 77.3 81.0 93.6 86.3 84.1 87.3 95.1 95.1 89.9 100.5 111.6
Lower quartile 70.3 78.7 75.4 60.7 77.8 79.2 64.5 67.3 78.0 71.9 69.8 71.1 78.5 79.2 72.3 84.0 94.4
5th percentile 55.4 63.4 60.6 48.5 63.0 63.7 51.7 53.8 58.6 56.8 54.8 54.6 58.7 59.0 52.6 59.7 71.9
Ratio of assets to buyout liabilities:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 74.1 78.0 84.0 75.7 79.6 78.4 79.2 88.1 91.6 88.9 89.4 93.1 99.7 101.4 102.2 103.9 109.4
Upper quartile 60.6 66.0 68.8 59.3 65.5 66.2 63.3 66.3 73.2 70.0 69.2 71.6 80.7 81.3 80.2 87.7 92.5
Median 52.3 57.3 59.0 49.8 57.1 58.7 54.0 56.0 62.4 59.4 58.1 59.4 67.1 68.2 67.3 74.3 80.8
Lower quartile 45.2 50.0 50.8 42.4 48.4 50.7 45.8 48.0 52.5 49.8 48.4 48.6 55.7 56.4 54.3 61.6 67.3
5th percentile 35.5 39.1 40.4 32.5 38.7 39.3 35.7 36.5 40.7 37.8 37.6 36.0 41.2 41.3 39.5 43.2 49.2
Ratio of TPs to s.179 liabilities:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 154.3 160.0 154.1 146.9 154.9 152.6 151.2 151.3 146.8 138.2 139.3 140.4 140.8 143.7 139.3 146.1 153.5
Upper quartile 115.9 126.0 123.1 113.9 126.9 123.1 112.3 111.0 116.9 108.9 108.5 111.4 113.5 116.0 113.4 118.0 126.0
Median 101.4 110.2 108.4 99.3 110.8 107.9 97.3 95.7 101.8 95.9 94.2 95.7 99.6 102.0 99.5 104.4 112.9
Lower quartile 89.0 97.5 95.6 85.4 96.5 94.8 83.9 82.3 86.6 82.3 81.7 81.2 85.8 89.7 84.9 92.1 100.9
5th percentile 72.7 79.3 77.5 67.4 76.4 74.4 61.8 60.9 63.8 59.1 58.2 56.5 61.0 65.2 62.2 66.3 77.5
Ratio of TPs to buyout liabilities:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 87.2 89.8 97.4 94.2 94.8 90.4 91.4 93.6 91.9 90.4 91.8 91.6 94.2 96.3 98.1 98.7 100.0
Upper quartile 73.5 77.6 83.3 79.5 80.2 78.2 78.0 78.2 78.7 75.6 76.7 77.3 81.1 83.5 84.8 87.0 90.0
Median 66.1 69.9 73.5 71.8 71.9 71.1 70.0 69.7 71.8 68.1 68.2 68.7 73.3 75.5 77.0 79.9 82.8
Lower quartile 59.1 62.6 65.0 63.3 65.0 63.6 62.5 62.9 64.0 61.4 60.8 60.0 65.3 67.5 68.4 72.3 75.1
5th percentile 49.2 52.5 54.1 51.6 54.8 52.8 52.2 53.4 52.0 50.3 50.4 46.8 53.7 56.1 53.6 58.9 62.3

Table 2.3a: Average (unweighted) ratio of assets to TPs by scheme characteristics (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Unweighted average (%) - Tranche

Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 85.3 86.5 85.9 76.8 82.4 88.5 82.1 82.7 90.1 90.5 89.5 89.7 95.2 93.3 90.1 94.1 98.8
100 to fewer than 500 members 82.3 86.5 85.9 72.0 81.6 87.2 79.5 81.6 89.0 87.2 85.2 88.0 91.5 89.7 87.0 91.9 95.4
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 81.6 88.5 85.7 70.4 82.2 87.8 80.0 81.9 88.1 89.0 85.9 87.1 92.6 90.2 87.7 94.2 97.7
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 84.9 88.0 86.8 73.6 83.0 88.6 81.0 82.4 89.6 88.9 86.8 89.1 94.1 92.0 90.3 96.7 98.4
5,000 members or more 89.0 91.7 90.1 76.3 84.1 90.1 81.8 85.3 91.4 88.7 88.5 92.7 94.8 95.4 95.6 97.1 102.9
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 86.1 86.8 86.6 77.8 83.5 90.1 83.9 84.4 91.6 90.5 92.1 91.0 94.9 95.3 92.1 94.5 101.4
£5m to less than £20m 82.1 86.4 84.9 72.3 81.2 86.3 80.2 80.7 87.6 88.8 86.0 87.5 94.1 89.7 86.7 92.9 95.3
£20m to less than £100m 82.4 87.7 86.0 71.4 82.1 88.2 79.3 81.1 89.8 88.4 84.6 88.4 91.8 90.1 87.7 92.7 95.8
£100m to less than £300m 84.7 88.1 89.1 73.2 83.8 88.8 79.8 83.4 89.5 87.9 86.9 88.9 93.1 90.6 89.9 94.6 97.6
£300m or greater 89.1 91.2 88.4 75.5 82.8 88.1 81.8 84.5 90.5 89.0 87.9 90.4 94.8 94.9 92.9 96.8 101.4
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 82.6 85.2 84.1 74.5 81.7 88.1 82.4 83.1 90.2 90.1 87.8 86.5 93.1 91.1 88.9 90.3 97.6
25% to less than 50% 83.5 87.6 86.1 71.6 81.5 87.4 78.7 80.8 88.4 87.1 85.6 88.0 91.7 90.7 87.5 93.4 96.7
50% to less than 75% 88.2 90.7 89.4 75.6 83.8 88.0 81.5 82.5 89.8 89.2 87.2 90.0 94.6 91.7 90.0 94.8 98.0
75% or greater 92.6 94.6 96.4 81.5 89.6 94.1 88.3 90.6 92.4 95.7 96.2 98.6 99.7 100.8 96.2 100.7 100.8
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 85.0 88.5 87.9 74.7 84.2 90.8 83.3 85.6 92.4 91.4 89.5 91.5 95.7 94.6 92.0 96.8 100.6
TPs not reported for active members 81.1 83.7 82.1 72.4 79.2 83.9 77.9 78.8 86.2 86.9 85.4 87.0 92.3 90.2 87.4 92.9 96.5
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             81.1 81.6 88.4 87.7 85.1 84.9 88.3 87.6 84.8 85.9 89.9
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             78.6 79.3 84.7 83.6 83.0 84.5 85.1 85.8 82.9 87.3 87.8
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             76.1 78.5 82.5 81.9 80.3 82.1 82.7 80.1 80.5 83.0 83.9
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             74.5 75.1 78.6 78.1 76.6 76.2 77.8 77.0 76.1 78.8 80.1
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 84.9 86.4 87.3 78.3 84.4 88.4 86.2 87.1 90.6 89.6 89.3 89.7 89.8 90.0 87.9 90.1 90.7
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 78.7 82.5 81.8 73.1 80.9 82.8 79.6 79.1 84.6 84.1 83.5 82.5 83.5 82.6 81.6 82.7 82.4
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 78.4 80.0 79.6 71.0 78.0 80.2 76.0 77.8 80.5 80.1 79.6 79.2 78.7 78.5 75.7 77.2 79.5
10 years or more 76.0 76.7 74.6 66.5 73.2 76.0 69.7 70.4 76.6 74.3 72.4 72.6 72.8 69.3 67.2 68.7 65.9
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       74.6 83.1 89.1 81.8 83.1 90.3 89.7 88.2 89.9 94.9 93.0 90.3 95.3 98.7
At least one contingent asset       70.6 79.7 83.9 77.8 79.5 85.7 85.5 83.1 84.4 87.4 85.0 84.1 87.2 90.0
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 61.0 61.0 61.5 59.9 61.5 61.0 60.7 59.7 59.2 61.1 59.4 59.6 59.5 60.5 59.4 59.7 58.8
70% to less than 80% 75.2 75.4 75.5 74.7 75.3 75.5 75.2 75.4 75.5 75.4 75.5 75.8 75.5 75.8 75.6 75.7 75.5
80% to less than 90% 84.9 85.1 85.1 84.4 85.0 85.2 84.8 85.1 85.2 85.4 85.1 85.4 85.3 85.6 85.5 85.4 85.6
90% to less than 100% 94.6 94.4 94.5 94.3 94.3 94.5 94.0 94.4 94.7 94.6 94.7 94.8 95.1 95.0 95.0 95.1 95.5
100% or greater 111.5 110.9 110.3 111.5 110.7 110.5 109.6 109.3 109.4 109.2 110.1 109.9 109.9 109.6 108.8 109.4 110.5

Table 2.3b: Average (weighted) ratio of assets to TPs by scheme characteristics (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 83.8 85.0 85.4 75.1 81.5 81.2 87.7 81.0 89.9 92.4 87.2 87.1 93.1 92.0 90.6 94.3 97.1
100 to fewer than 500 members 82.7 86.4 85.8 71.7 82.4 87.0 79.0 82.3 89.4 87.7 85.6 88.4 92.9 91.4 88.9 93.3 96.7
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 81.0 88.2 86.2 70.7 81.1 87.5 79.3 81.8 88.1 89.1 85.9 87.0 92.3 91.0 89.4 93.3 98.4
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 84.9 87.4 87.1 73.2 81.8 88.3 80.7 83.4 90.0 88.5 87.7 90.3 94.5 93.7 91.2 97.2 99.7
5,000 members or more 92.2 94.8 91.6 77.5 85.0 88.8 85.8 85.6 89.0 91.7 89.8 90.7 97.1 97.6 92.9 100.4 104.1
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 84.5 85.8 85.5 75.6 81.9 87.5 82.0 82.0 89.9 89.1 90.0 89.0 93.8 92.4 90.1 92.9 98.1
£5m to less than £20m 81.8 86.5 84.8 72.1 81.2 86.2 80.2 80.3 87.8 88.1 85.4 87.2 93.4 88.8 86.5 92.4 95.0
£20m to less than £100m 82.6 87.7 85.8 71.3 82.1 87.9 79.5 80.9 89.9 88.7 84.6 88.6 92.2 90.3 88.1 92.9 95.9
£100m to less than £300m 85.1 87.8 89.4 73.4 83.7 88.6 79.9 83.6 89.4 87.8 87.4 88.9 93.2 91.0 90.1 94.8 97.7
£300m or greater 91.9 94.5 91.1 77.3 84.5 88.1 85.5 85.3 89.1 91.5 89.4 90.6 96.8 97.0 92.7 99.9 103.3
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 82.0 87.6 89.6 72.8 82.9 90.0 82.6 85.5 87.9 95.9 88.4 93.2 96.6 90.9 93.9 99.2 94.8
25% to less than 50% 86.3 93.1 91.7 73.2 83.8 87.2 83.9 83.4 88.8 89.7 87.5 89.1 93.7 96.1 90.3 97.6 103.6
50% to less than 75% 95.4 94.1 88.4 79.8 84.2 89.4 84.8 85.7 90.0 91.2 90.4 92.1 99.2 96.3 93.7 100.3 102.0
75% or greater 99.5 99.4 87.3 85.4 89.5 86.5 91.5 94.9 87.4 99.7 91.4 93.6 106.2 99.3 99.1 103.2 103.0
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 90.5 93.3 90.6 76.6 84.5 88.6 85.2 85.5 89.7 91.6 89.8 91.0 96.5 97.7 92.7 101.0 103.4
TPs not reported for active members 86.6 84.2 82.2 74.7 80.2 82.7 81.9 82.3 85.6 89.3 86.7 87.7 96.2 93.6 91.2 96.7 101.2
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             89.1 86.7 86.1 89.6 89.3 85.5 91.6 91.1 88.4 89.0 95.3
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             81.6 83.0 87.3 88.6 86.4 87.4 92.3 92.8 87.3 91.5 90.8
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             77.2 82.1 88.2 84.1 84.6 84.8 88.0 84.2 85.4 87.5 90.9
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             78.2 79.9 81.7 78.8 83.4 79.0 86.9 80.8 85.5 84.8 87.2
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 89.0 93.6 90.4 79.5 88.7 90.8 90.1 91.4 93.1 92.5 92.9 92.3 94.2 94.8 91.4 92.2 95.3
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 83.2 88.7 83.6 78.9 84.0 86.3 86.3 86.0 86.8 90.2 88.6 87.3 86.8 88.8 89.1 86.9 89.9
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 86.3 85.2 84.8 75.3 82.2 89.0 84.8 81.7 82.2 87.2 84.9 82.6 90.1 86.0 83.9 90.6 88.2
10 years or more 83.8 81.9 77.1 72.3 81.1 82.1 75.6 79.5 85.5 80.2 82.7 83.8 87.8 77.5 84.0 68.4 74.0
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       78.0 85.6 89.3 85.4 85.1 90.7 91.2 89.1 92.2 97.5 97.8 94.2 101.3 103.0
At least one contingent asset       74.3 82.4 87.0 83.5 84.3 85.6 90.5 88.7 87.2 92.7 92.3 89.2 93.2 100.4
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 64.1 65.9 65.0 64.5 64.9 62.4 63.6 63.2 63.8 60.7 61.2 62.8 62.6 62.2 63.0 60.9 61.5
70% to less than 80% 76.3 76.1 76.3 75.6 76.0 77.3 75.5 75.7 75.4 75.2 75.9 75.7 75.6 76.3 75.8 76.3 76.1
80% to less than 90% 85.5 85.2 85.1 84.9 85.2 85.2 85.2 84.7 86.1 85.2 85.3 84.8 86.7 86.0 85.5 86.0 85.6
90% to less than 100% 93.7 94.9 94.0 93.3 94.5 93.0 94.3 93.5 93.9 94.6 94.3 95.1 95.5 95.4 93.9 94.7 96.4
100% or greater 109.0 105.3 103.7 104.9 104.3 105.1 101.7 104.2 105.6 105.9 103.8 106.7 106.7 106.3 107.3 105.7 107.7

Table 2.4: Average ratio of TPs to buyout liabilities by scheme characteristics (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 69.8 72.8 75.7 75.0 75.7 75.7 73.3 74.8 74.3 70.5 71.6 71.6 74.2 76.4 76.9 79.3 81.8
100 to fewer than 500 members 66.0 69.3 72.3 70.9 72.3 70.4 69.2 68.7 70.8 67.6 67.8 67.5 72.2 74.6 75.6 79.1 82.7
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 66.6 69.4 73.3 71.4 71.6 69.8 69.2 68.8 69.5 68.4 69.1 66.0 74.4 76.1 74.8 81.1 84.7
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 66.3 71.2 76.3 72.0 72.7 70.1 70.9 70.5 69.7 69.5 68.7 68.5 74.0 76.3 78.3 80.7 82.1
5,000 members or more 69.8 73.6 80.1 73.9 75.2 72.6 72.4 71.9 71.5 71.4 69.6 71.8 76.4 78.5 78.9 81.4 83.4
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 68.9 71.6 74.2 73.9 75.3 75.5 72.6 75.0 73.6 69.4 71.7 71.1 72.1 76.3 76.2 78.0 79.9
£5m to less than £20m 66.2 70.0 73.2 71.7 72.7 71.9 70.6 69.9 71.7 68.9 68.0 68.8 73.9 74.2 74.6 79.1 81.5
£20m to less than £100m 67.1 70.1 74.3 71.6 73.1 70.4 69.7 69.8 70.5 67.9 69.0 67.9 72.7 75.6 76.6 79.7 83.1
£100m to less than £300m 66.6 72.4 76.4 73.1 73.0 70.6 71.7 71.1 70.9 70.7 70.0 68.4 74.8 77.2 77.3 80.7 84.9
£300m or greater 71.5 74.3 80.9 75.2 75.3 73.6 73.2 71.2 72.5 71.3 70.1 71.4 76.7 77.9 79.8 81.9 84.2
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 64.6 68.3 71.5 69.6 71.3 70.5 67.9 69.6 69.8 65.7 66.8 65.4 68.3 72.0 71.5 73.6 75.6
25% to less than 50% 67.4 70.9 74.2 71.8 72.8 70.5 69.1 69.1 69.3 67.2 67.0 66.7 71.3 73.7 74.0 77.0 80.7
50% to less than 75% 75.1 77.3 81.1 78.2 78.5 76.8 75.9 75.2 75.4 73.8 72.9 73.7 78.3 78.9 79.7 83.3 84.9
75% or greater 84.4 87.7 91.1 87.7 86.2 86.2 89.0 87.9 85.3 85.5 86.6 82.2 87.5 88.2 87.4 91.4 90.5
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 66.8 70.4 74.7 71.9 73.3 71.2 70.3 70.5 70.1 68.4 68.2 66.7 71.8 73.3 73.1 77.1 80.5
TPs not reported for active members 70.8 72.9 74.6 74.6 74.6 74.3 72.2 72.1 73.5 70.1 70.5 71.1 74.9 77.3 78.6 80.9 83.3
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             70.1 71.0 70.3 70.5 69.0 68.9 71.9 74.0 74.6 77.0 78.1
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             70.1 69.5 70.8 68.5 69.4 67.5 71.4 74.0 75.1 77.3 80.8
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             69.4 69.8 70.8 67.2 67.6 67.2 70.7 73.0 76.0 77.4 78.8
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             69.6 71.5 72.3 67.7 68.8 68.6 73.7 72.8 75.0 77.0 79.5
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 69.1 71.6 75.3 73.3 75.0 72.6 72.6 73.3 73.3 70.3 70.6 70.4 73.0 74.9 76.5 78.5 79.9
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 68.6 70.8 75.0 74.2 74.2 72.2 70.8 70.4 72.3 68.4 67.3 67.9 71.3 73.7 73.4 76.2 78.6
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 66.3 70.1 74.7 72.2 71.5 71.6 69.4 68.4 69.6 66.9 68.2 65.5 69.6 73.2 72.5 74.4 77.0
10 years or more 66.3 70.6 73.4 70.4 71.8 69.3 69.2 68.9 68.5 66.4 67.8 64.8 70.0 70.9 73.4 74.6 81.4
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       73.1 73.9 72.6 71.4 71.3 71.7 69.4 69.5 69.1 73.9 75.9 76.7 80.2 82.6
At least one contingent asset       71.2 73.4 71.7 70.8 71.2 72.3 69.1 69.7 69.6 72.9 75.9 75.9 77.3 81.7
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 70.3 74.9 78.8 72.3 75.1 73.4 71.6 72.7 75.0 69.7 71.3 68.5 72.2 73.6 74.3 77.7 79.9
70% to less than 80% 66.6 70.3 74.0 71.7 71.9 71.7 70.2 68.9 71.2 67.6 65.9 67.0 69.7 72.4 71.7 74.4 80.3
80% to less than 90% 66.5 69.4 74.0 71.8 72.4 71.7 70.2 69.6 70.0 68.0 68.0 66.8 71.5 72.7 75.3 76.4 78.7
90% to less than 100% 66.5 70.3 73.3 74.1 74.3 70.2 71.4 71.0 71.1 68.9 70.5 68.6 72.6 75.6 76.6 78.5 80.9
100% or greater 69.6 72.3 74.3 80.4 78.3 75.9 75.2 76.7 73.3 72.0 72.5 73.8 77.1 80.5 81.3 84.0 85.6

Table 2.5: Use of contingent assets (schemes in surplus and deficit, tranche 17 only)

All contingent assets

Number of schemes (holding at least one) Percentage of schemes (holding at least one)
PPF-recognised contingent asset 77 4.7
Contingent asset reported in support of funding (non-PPF-recognised) 111 6.8
All contingent assets 186 11.4

PPF recognised

Number of schemes (holding at least one) Percentage of schemes (holding at least one)
Type A 52 3.2
Type B and C 26 1.6

Non-PPF recognised (schemes in deficit only)

Number of schemes (holding at least one) Percentage of schemes (holding at least one)
Parental guarantee 71 4.3
Escrow, cash or charge over other asset (including property), or other (eg letter of credit) 51 3.1

11.4 % of tranche 17 schemes hold at least one contingent asset.

PPF-recognised contingent assets fall into the following three categories.

  • Type A: guarantees provided by the parent/group companies to fund the scheme, most commonly guarantees to cover a pre-arranged percentage of liabilities.
  • Type B: includes security over cash, UK real estate and securities.
  • Type C: includes letters of credit and bank guarantees.

There are some cases in which a contingent asset that is reported in the recovery plan has not been formally recognised by the PPF in support of the scheme’s levy calculation. These contingent assets may, for example, take the form of security over property, escrow accounts or parental/group guarantees, and are referred to here as non-PPF-recognised.

Table 2.6: Use of contingent assets by scheme characteristics (schemes in surplus and deficit, tranche 17 only)

Percentage of schemes (%)

Size by number of members
PPF-recognised Non-PPF-recognised All contingent assets
Fewer than 100 members 2.4 2.1 4.5
100 to fewer than 500 members 4.3 7.6 11.9
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 6.6 13.2 19.9
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 8.0 12.9 19.9
5,000 members or more 12.1 9.1 21.2
Size by TPs
PPF-recognised Non-PPF-recognised All contingent assets
Less than £5m 1.5 0.9 2.5
£5m to less than £20m 4.6 5.4 10.0
£20m to less than £100m 2.8 6.9 9.7
£100m to less than £300m 7.9 14.9 22.8
£300m or greater 10.7 10.3 20.1
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
PPF-recognised Non-PPF-recognised All contingent assets
Less than 25% 2.1 5.1 6.8
25% to less than 50% 5.0 7.0 11.9
50% to less than 75% 6.2 7.8 14.1
75% or greater 1.5 4.4 5.8
Presence of active members
PPF-recognised Non-PPF-recognised All contingent assets
TPs reported for active members 4.3 6.4 10.8
TPs not reported for active members 4.9 6.9 11.6
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
PPF-recognised Non-PPF-recognised All contingent assets
Covenant group 1 (Strong) 2.0 12.1 14.1
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong) 5.3 15.3 20.0
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak) 5.2 10.3 15.5
Covenant group 4 (Weak) 7.7 11.2 18.9
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
PPF-recognised Non-PPF-recognised All contingent assets
Fewer than 5 years 5.5 12.4 17.7
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 4.2 14.8 18.3
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 2.9 13.2 16.2
10 years or more 4.6 13.8 18.5
Presence of contingent assets
PPF-recognised Non-PPF-recognised All contingent assets
No contingent asset 0.0 0.0 0.0
At least one contingent asset 41.4 59.7 100.0
Funding level (TPs)
PPF-recognised Non-PPF-recognised All contingent assets
Less than 70% 7.1 10.7 16.7
70% to less than 80% 6.5 15.8 21.6
80% to less than 90% 4.0 13.0 17.0
90% to less than 100% 5.1 12.5 17.6
100% or greater 4.3 0.3 4.5

Table 2.7: Schemes’ use of contingent assets (schemes in surplus and deficit, tranches 4-17)

Tranche (percentage of schemes)

All contingent assets
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Schemes with at least one PPF-recognised contingent asset 8.0 14.1 11.9 11.9 12.6 10.5 10.1 9.4 8.0 8.8 5.8 5.7 5.9 4.7
Schemes with at least one contingent asset reported in support of funding (non-PPF-recognised) 7.7 6.9 6.6 10.8 7.6 7.2 8.4 9.9 9.6 9.4 10.3 13.0 9.9 6.8
Schemes with at least one contingent asset 15.4 20.3 18.0 21.1 19.3 16.7 18.2 18.9 17.2 17.9 15.9 18.3 15.7 11.4
PPF recognised
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Type A 6.6 12.7 10.6 10.2 10.9 9.1 8.3 7.9 6.5 6.8 4.5 4.5 4.3 3.2
Type B and C 1.5 1.7 1.4 1.8 2.0 1.5 2.0 1.8 1.7 2.1 1.4 1.4 1.7 1.6
Non-PPF recognised (schemes in deficit only)
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Parental guarantee 4.2 4.2 3.6 5.1 4.2 4.4 5.3 6.2 5.8 5.9 6.8 8.6 6.2 4.3
Escrow, cash or charge over other asset (including property), or other (eg letter of credit) 3.8 2.8 3.1 5.9 3.6 3.3 3.7 4.4 4.8 4.2 4.5 6.4 4.6 3.1

Recovery plans and contributions

Table 3.1: Distribution of recovery plan lengths (schemes in deficit only)

RP length (years) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 15.0 15.0 17.0 19.8 17.4 15.9 18.0 17.6 18.7 16.9 16.5 16.0 14.8 14.8 14.7 13.1 12.6
Upper quartile 10.0 10.0 10.0 12.0 10.0 10.0 11.0 11.0 10.3 10.3 10.3 9.8 8.8 8.1 8.1 7.2 6.1
Median 8.8 8.0 8.8 9.4 8.3 7.2 7.9 8.1 7.1 6.6 7.3 6.6 5.5 5.2 5.3 5.0 3.9
Lower quartile 5.0 5.0 5.1 6.8 5.0 4.4 5.0 5.0 4.2 4.0 4.3 4.0 3.3 3.0 3.2 3.0 2.0
5th percentile 1.6 1.2 2.0 2.5 1.7 1.1 1.7 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.5

Table 3.2: Distribution of recovery plan lengths (for schemes in deficit submitting valuations in respect of both tranches 14 and 17)

RP length (years) - Tranche

14 17
95th percentile 15.8 12.8
Upper quartile 9.9 6.3
Median 6.6 4.1
Lower quartile 4.4 2.3
5th percentile 1.6 0.7

Table 3.3: Average recovery plan length by scheme characteristics (schemes in deficit only)

RP length (years) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 8.1 7.7 8.6 9.7 8.5 7.8 8.5 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.9 7.4 6.5 6.2 6.3 5.7 4.7
Size by number of members 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 8.0 8.0 8.2 8.9 8.1 7.5 8.3 8.3 7.7 6.9 7.2 7.3 5.8 5.7 6.3 5.6 4.4
100 to fewer than 500 members 8.2 7.9 9.0 10.1 8.6 7.9 8.8 8.4 8.4 7.9 7.9 7.7 6.8 6.6 6.6 5.9 5.1
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 8.1 7.5 8.3 9.8 8.2 7.8 7.9 8.7 7.8 6.7 7.9 7.4 6.8 6.1 6.4 5.6 5.1
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 8.1 7.2 8.9 9.9 8.9 8.1 8.6 9.3 8.0 7.9 8.7 7.0 6.3 6.2 5.6 5.4 4.7
5,000 members or more 7.8 7.2 8.1 10.5 8.9 8.1 9.1 8.8 8.1 8.7 8.8 6.9 7.4 5.8 6.1 5.7 3.8
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 8.0 7.9 8.6 8.9 8.1 7.6 8.4 8.3 8.0 6.8 6.5 7.7 5.8 5.3 6.1 5.5 3.7
£5m to less than £20m 8.3 8.1 8.9 10.0 8.6 8.1 8.9 8.6 8.5 7.8 8.1 7.9 6.8 6.4 7.1 6.4 4.9
£20m to less than £100m 8.2 7.4 8.4 9.9 8.4 7.5 8.3 8.4 7.8 7.3 8.1 7.2 6.4 6.6 6.0 5.4 5.2
£100m to less than £300m 7.5 6.9 8.4 9.7 8.6 7.8 8.2 8.9 7.7 7.3 7.9 7.0 6.7 6.2 6.0 5.6 5.1
£300m or greater 7.9 7.3 8.4 10.6 9.0 8.1 9.0 8.9 8.0 8.5 8.3 6.8 6.7 5.7 5.8 5.4 4.4
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 8.0 7.5 8.3 8.8 7.7 7.4 8.0 8.1 7.3 6.8 6.8 7.2 5.8 5.3 5.9 5.8 3.5
25% to less than 50% 8.2 7.9 8.8 10.5 8.8 7.8 9.0 8.7 8.3 7.9 8.1 7.7 7.0 6.4 6.6 5.6 4.7
50% to less than 75% 8.4 8.2 8.8 9.9 9.0 8.3 8.6 8.9 8.3 7.5 8.2 7.1 6.1 6.5 6.1 5.7 5.4
75% or greater 6.9 7.1 7.7 9.3 8.1 7.9 7.0 7.1 7.0 6.9 7.5 6.5 6.6 5.3 6.0 5.5 4.4
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 8.0 7.4 8.2 9.5 8.1 7.4 8.1 8.2 8.0 7.2 7.6 7.1 6.0 5.9 5.8 5.3 4.1
TPs not reported for active members 8.4 8.6 9.4 10.1 9.1 8.4 9.1 8.9 8.0 7.7 8.1 7.6 6.7 6.3 6.6 5.8 5.0
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             6.4 6.9 6.3 5.6 5.9 5.6 5.0 4.2 4.9 4.6 3.3
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             8.1 7.9 7.4 6.8 7.2 6.6 5.5 5.5 5.5 4.7 4.0
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             9.4 9.0 9.0 8.4 8.6 8.0 7.3 7.2 7.0 6.6 5.6
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             10.9 10.1 9.5 9.8 10.2 10.2 9.1 9.9 9.5 7.8 7.0
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 3.2 3.1 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.0 3.1 3.0 2.9 3.1 2.9 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.5
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.0 6.0
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 9.3 9.2 9.2 9.2 9.1 8.9 9.0 9.0 8.8 8.8 8.9 8.8 8.8 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.8
10 years or more 13.2 14.4 14.9 14.8 14.3 14.0 14.5 14.4 14.7 14.1 14.1 14.5 14.1 14.3 15.1 14.3 13.8
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       9.6 8.3 7.6 8.5 8.4 8.0 7.5 7.7 7.3 6.3 6 6.3 5.5 4.8
At least one contingent asset       10.5 9.0 8.6 8.7 9.0 8.3 7.6 8.3 7.6 6.9 6.6 6.2 6.2 4.7
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 9.5 9.6 11.4 11.1 10.7 11.7 12.3 11.9 13.3 12.3 12.4 12.2 10.7 10.8 10.4 10.2 10.0
70% to less than 80% 8.5 8.6 9.5 9.3 9.4 9.2 9.1 9.3 10 9.4 9.3 8.5 9.1 8.2 7.3 7.6 6.4
80% to less than 90% 7.9 7.8 8.1 8.2 7.4 7.1 6.7 7.4 7.8 7.0 7.3 7.1 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.1 4.6
90% to less than 100% 6.3 5.8 6.1 6.1 6.0 5.5 4.8 4.9 5.2 4.7 4.6 4.5 4.0 3.6 3.9 3.7 3.1

Table 3.4: Average annual contributions as a percentage of TPs liabilities by scheme characteristics (schemes in deficit only)

Ratio Percent (%) - Tranche

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 3.1 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.2 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.3
Size by number of members
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 3.6 3.5 3.2 3.3 2.8 3.0 2.8 2.9 2.6 2.8 2.7 2.2 2.4 3.1
100 to fewer than 500 members 3.0 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.2 2.0 2.3 2.1 1.9 2.0 1.9
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 3.0 2.7 2.3 2.6 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.8 2.0 1.5
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 2.8 2.3 2.2 2.3 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.5 2.1
5,000 members or more 2.3 2.0 1.8 1.8 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.7
Size by TPs
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 3.8 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.1 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.6 3.2 2.8 3.1 5.2
£5m to less than £20m 3.0 2.9 2.6 2.7 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.1 2.3 1.9 1.9 1.8
£20m to less than £100m 3.0 2.5 2.4 2.7 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.2 2.0 2.0 1.9 1.8
£100m to less than £300m 2.7 2.4 2.2 2.4 1.7 1.8 2.0 2.0 1.7 1.6 1.9 1.5 1.8 1.4
£300m or greater 2.4 2.1 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.6 1.5 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.4
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 3.7 3.5 3.3 3.4 2.7 2.9 2.8 3.3 3.0 3.3 3.2 2.6 2.9 5.4
25% to less than 50% 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.2 1.9 1.8 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.7
50% to less than 75% 2.6 2.3 2.2 2.3 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.8 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.7
75% or greater 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.4 2.1 1.8 1.7 1.9 2.4 1.7 2.0 1.9 1.7
Presence of active members
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 3.0 2.7 2.5 2.7 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.2 1.9 2.2 1.8 1.6 1.7 2.9
TPs not reported for active members 3.3 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.5 2.6 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.4 2.1 2.1 2.1
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)       2.9 2.4 2.1 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.0 2.1 1.9 2.4 2.3
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)       2.6 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.1 2.4 2.1 1.9 1.8 2.4
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)       2.5 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.2 1.8 2.0 2.3 1.8 2.0 1.6
Covenant group 4 (Weak)       2.5 2.2 2.6 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.4 1.9 1.9 2.1 2.3
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 4.2 3.7 3.0 3.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.3 2.4 2.3 1.9 2.0 2.5
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 3.8 3.0 3.1 3.0 2.6 2.4 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.0 2.3 2.4
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 3.1 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.1 1.8
10 years or more 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.1 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.9 1.6 1.7 1.9
Presence of contingent assets
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.8 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.3 1.9 2.1 2.4
At least one contingent asset 2.9 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.2 1.9 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.9
Funding level (TPs)
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 3.9 4.3 4.4 3.7 3.4 4.4 3.9 3.9 3.7 4.9 3.7 3.2 4.0 3.7
70% to less than 80% 3.0 3.3 3.3 3.1 2.5 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.8 3.0 2.6 2.9 2.9
80% to less than 90% 2.1 2.4 2.7 2.4 1.9 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.3 2.3 1.8 2.2 2.0
90% to less than 100% 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.1 0.8 0.9 0.9

Discount rates

Table 4.1: Average nominal discount rate and outperformance by tranche (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-17: all schemes)

Mean percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Pre and post-retirement rates (a) 5.018 5.355 5.633 5.273 5.248 5.108 4.186 3.966 4.337 3.389 3.237 2.740 2.596 2.446 1.960 1.896 2.266
Pre-retirement rate (b) 6.133 6.303 6.441 6.106 6.111 6.049 5.074 4.917 5.269 4.295 4.148 3.590 3.545 3.317 2.775 2.786 3.193
Post-retirement rate (b) 4.631 4.927 5.056 4.725 4.763 4.700 3.652 3.496 3.931 2.871 2.766 2.269 2.201 2.096 1.666 1.708 2.130
SEDR (c) 5.526 5.758 5.898 5.516 5.531 5.454 4.356 4.149 4.576 3.462 3.324 2.787 2.692 2.510 2.033 2.035 2.450
SEDR (all schemes) (d) 5.506 5.635 5.830 5.448 5.454 5.369 4.305 4.091 4.498 3.431 3.281 2.747 2.616 2.427 1.909 1.865 2.278
SEDR outperformance over 20-year UK gilt (e) 1.367 1.185 1.243 1.067 0.888 0.964 1.050 0.996 0.924 0.971 0.904 0.900 0.765 0.726 0.915 0.673 0.479
SEDR outperformance over greater than 15 year AA UK corporate bonds (f) 0.578 0.286 -0.643 -1.330 -0.054 -0.077 -0.301 0.014 0.206 0.117 -0.088 0.220 0.002 -0.085 -0.035 0.039 -0.333
  1. Single rates provided
  2. Different rates provided
  3. Composite of pre- and post-retirement rates where different rates are provided
  4. Combined single and different rates
  5. Source: Thomson Reuters, Bank of England
  6. Source: Thomson Reuters, Markit Iboxx

Table 4.2: Average real discount rate and outperformance by tranche (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-17: all schemes)

Mean percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Pre and post-retirement rates (a) 2.030 2.145 2.092 2.084 1.649 1.549 0.968 0.681 0.863 0.194 0.115 -0.649 -0.724 -0.964 -1.022 -1.429 -1.478
Pre-retirement rate (b) 3.115 3.042 2.851 2.940 2.495 2.479 1.885 1.670 1.813 1.102 1.022 0.227 0.188 -0.107 -0.196 -0.613 -0.557
Post-retirement rate (b) 1.656 1.708 1.512 1.600 1.192 1.176 0.507 0.29 0.518 -0.28 -0.321 -1.051 -1.110 -1.288 -1.272 -1.656 -1.581
SEDR (c) 2.327 2.300 2.096 2.152 1.700 1.675 1.005 0.749 0.95 0.131 0.079 -0.643 -0.725 -0.981 -0.975 -1.400 -1.358
SEDR (all schemes) (d) 2.253 2.253 2.095 2.134 1.687 1.645 0.99 0.732 0.927 0.151 0.085 -0.678 -0.773 -1.045 -1.116 -1.553 -1.515
Real SEDR outperformance against 20 year index linked gilts (e) 1.061 0.979 1.134 1.05 0.833 0.907 1.013 0.981 0.900 0.985 0.994 1.065 0.874 0.911 1.120 0.839 0.609
  1. Single rates provided
  2. Different rates provided
  3. Composite of pre- and post-retirement rates where different rates are provided
  4. Combined single and different rates
  5. Source: Thomson Reuters, Bank of England

Table 4.3: Average nominal SEDR by scheme characteristics (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Mean percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 5.506 5.635 5.83 5.448 5.454 5.369 4.305 4.091 4.498 3.431 3.281 2.747 2.617 2.427 1.909 1.865 2.278
Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 5.184 5.432 5.550 5.251 5.195 5.071 4.067 3.843 4.237 3.333 3.201 2.696 2.642 2.458 1.971 2.000 2.284
100 to fewer than 500 members 5.834 5.720 5.941 5.458 5.506 5.444 4.378 4.189 4.572 3.538 3.369 2.845 2.703 2.483 1.923 1.852 2.290
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 5.440 5.833 5.991 5.533 5.711 5.559 4.488 4.277 4.658 3.466 3.290 2.766 2.550 2.354 1.842 1.715 2.315
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 5.435 5.725 5.976 5.619 5.586 5.606 4.487 4.204 4.725 3.422 3.294 2.668 2.538 2.366 1.824 1.734 2.221
5,000 members or more 5.406 5.648 5.941 5.645 5.678 5.656 4.427 4.307 4.768 3.352 3.213 2.617 2.402 2.202 1.797 1.844 2.208
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 5.148 5.419 5.533 5.216 5.151 5.020 3.997 3.755 4.159 3.284 3.130 2.640 2.624 2.402 2.019 2.069 2.319
£5m to less than £20m 5.487 5.708 5.878 5.461 5.470 5.320 4.291 4.101 4.475 3.491 3.380 2.871 2.746 2.568 2.045 1.960 2.351
£20m to less than £100m 5.441 5.771 5.956 5.528 5.615 5.531 4.425 4.243 4.624 3.537 3.359 2.810 2.670 2.447 1.858 1.863 2.250
£100m to less than £300m 6.985 5.677 5.970 5.582 5.534 5.613 4.387 4.200 4.679 3.409 3.227 2.644 2.564 2.369 1.811 1.762 2.286
£300m or greater 5.358 5.695 5.959 5.619 5.670 5.536 4.445 4.253 4.668 3.321 3.183 2.599 2.363 2.223 1.778 1.672 2.154
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 5.278 5.493 5.645 5.297 5.312 5.133 4.205 3.992 4.265 3.388 3.185 2.698 2.664 2.434 2.032 2.116 2.385
25% to less than 50% 5.473 5.786 6.000 5.571 5.561 5.506 4.431 4.219 4.654 3.522 3.363 2.836 2.693 2.525 1.940 1.923 2.313
50% to less than 75% 6.413 5.735 5.865 5.506 5.516 5.416 4.270 4.048 4.510 3.381 3.314 2.679 2.531 2.332 1.821 1.732 2.240
75% or greater 4.750 5.292 5.391 5.050 4.965 5.033 3.776 3.444 4.067 2.992 2.798 2.557 2.311 2.167 1.993 1.692 2.126
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 5.584 5.684 5.905 5.529 5.533 5.491 4.416 4.196 4.629 3.511 3.374 2.874 2.700 2.547 2.093 1.999 2.352
TPs not reported for active members 5.229 5.508 5.661 5.268 5.321 5.195 4.166 3.978 4.357 3.361 3.212 2.650 2.566 2.361 1.781 1.805 2.246
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             4.410 4.128 4.708 3.371 3.223 2.729 2.668 2.529 1.883 1.847 2.126
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             4.372 4.194 4.547 3.446 3.271 2.796 2.681 2.472 1.835 1.888 2.332
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             4.327 4.146 4.537 3.470 3.344 2.776 2.602 2.384 1.687 1.652 2.306
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             4.201 3.957 4.348 3.406 3.270 2.688 2.491 2.434 1.821 1.861 2.027
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 5.822 5.581 5.747 5.352 5.361 5.335 4.200 3.982 4.399 3.368 3.169 2.657 2.585 2.425 1.781 1.832 2.231
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 5.319 5.640 5.874 5.363 5.422 5.340 4.308 4.128 4.492 3.489 3.337 2.755 2.677 2.487 1.960 1.730 2.335
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 5.436 5.644 5.846 5.497 5.547 5.340 4.429 4.215 4.559 3.523 3.365 2.839 2.597 2.417 1.954 1.977 2.219
10 years or more 5.405 5.731 5.874 5.494 5.481 5.465 4.328 4.161 4.664 3.445 3.361 2.883 2.719 2.444 1.819 1.821 2.117
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       5.416 5.413 5.337 4.275 4.070 4.481 3.421 3.289 2.753 2.614 2.430 1.912 1.865 2.274
At least one contingent asset       5.606 5.593 5.483 4.404 4.177 4.577 3.474 3.252 2.719 2.626 2.413 1.895 1.863 2.303
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 5.075 5.318 5.49 5.369 5.225 5.036 4.134 3.853 4.212 3.22 3.146 2.640 2.558 2.449 1.771 1.787 2.030
70% to less than 80% 5.372 5.620 5.844 5.542 5.519 5.312 4.336 4.200 4.471 3.434 3.380 2.778 2.644 2.450 1.862 1.858 2.138
80% to less than 90% 5.865 5.695 5.934 5.500 5.539 5.406 4.412 4.216 4.577 3.467 3.380 2.801 2.630 2.461 1.773 1.877 2.311
90% to less than 100% 5.549 5.745 5.928 5.450 5.495 5.530 4.323 4.168 4.598 3.500 3.212 2.783 2.640 2.419 1.959 1.781 2.277
100% or greater               3.885 4.431 3.409 3.235 2.691 2.599 2.398 2.062 1.937 2.320

Table 4.4: Average outperformance of the nominal SEDR over nominal 20 year UK gilts by scheme characteristics (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Mean percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 1.367 1.185 1.243 1.068 0.888 0.964 1.050 0.996 0.924 0.971 0.904 0.900 0.765 0.726 0.915 0.673 0.479
Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 1.040 0.988 0.965 0.852 0.649 0.679 0.828 0.734 0.667 0.854 0.819 0.839 0.782 0.735 0.953 0.784 0.513
100 to fewer than 500 members 1.692 1.273 1.344 1.057 0.943 1.029 1.127 1.089 1.001 1.074 0.999 1.003 0.852 0.799 0.952 0.675 0.437
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 1.304 1.356 1.406 1.188 1.139 1.159 1.235 1.184 1.090 1.017 0.920 0.930 0.706 0.653 0.834 0.530 0.540
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 1.304 1.276 1.407 1.254 1.003 1.198 1.218 1.135 1.140 0.987 0.909 0.821 0.686 0.673 0.847 0.569 0.455
5,000 members or more 1.285 1.194 1.358 1.332 1.048 1.232 1.121 1.242 1.172 0.919 0.831 0.777 0.573 0.512 0.804 0.626 0.467
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 0.995 0.974 0.935 0.795 0.616 0.631 0.749 0.638 0.592 0.798 0.735 0.776 0.761 0.676 0.984 0.832 0.517
£5m to less than £20m 1.341 1.264 1.291 1.071 0.899 0.913 1.043 1.007 0.913 1.023 1.017 1.017 0.892 0.867 1.056 0.751 0.522
£20m to less than £100m 1.311 1.307 1.373 1.155 1.052 1.119 1.169 1.148 1.047 1.077 0.974 0.976 0.818 0.744 0.886 0.683 0.450
£100m to less than £300m 2.868 1.236 1.401 1.249 0.946 1.196 1.141 1.118 1.080 0.968 0.876 0.800 0.716 0.697 0.796 0.595 0.471
£300m or greater 1.237 1.232 1.383 1.299 1.045 1.129 1.149 1.184 1.087 0.888 0.800 0.753 0.523 0.532 0.791 0.493 0.430
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 1.131 1.044 1.061 0.900 0.753 0.751 0.959 0.898 0.695 0.913 0.781 0.843 0.804 0.721 1.002 0.898 0.610
25% to less than 50% 1.338 1.340 1.408 1.189 0.997 1.098 1.182 1.124 1.085 1.065 0.990 0.998 0.842 0.826 0.955 0.748 0.557
50% to less than 75% 2.290 1.267 1.284 1.155 0.934 0.990 0.991 0.958 0.930 0.927 0.949 0.830 0.682 0.637 0.828 0.535 0.395
75% or greater 0.625 0.871 0.823 0.750 0.376 0.584 0.546 0.297 0.462 0.539 0.448 0.670 0.466 0.455 1.009 0.475 0.304
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 1.450 1.237 1.323 1.158 0.962 1.097 1.155 1.105 1.050 1.052 0.982 1.025 0.847 0.835 1.077 0.805 0.620
TPs not reported for active members 1.070 1.050 1.065 0.868 0.762 0.773 0.918 0.879 0.789 0.900 0.846 0.805 0.715 0.665 0.803 0.614 0.419
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             1.156 1.008 1.109 0.932 0.847 0.885 0.827 0.809 0.951 0.690 0.396
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             1.121 1.112 0.983 0.993 0.907 0.958 0.834 0.783 0.898 0.703 0.475
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             1.066 1.059 0.981 1.016 0.980 0.933 0.757 0.686 0.756 0.483 0.551
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             0.956 0.866 0.769 0.930 0.862 0.834 0.641 0.733 0.883 0.683 0.250
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 1.683 1.129 1.183 0.971 0.785 0.920 0.958 0.898 0.815 0.899 0.777 0.807 0.733 0.696 0.813 0.644 0.459
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 1.181 1.176 1.289 1.009 0.838 0.924 1.039 1.040 0.929 1.019 0.942 0.905 0.830 0.809 1.016 0.591 0.445
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 1.301 1.199 1.255 1.109 0.985 0.940 1.166 1.107 0.999 1.082 1.024 1.013 0.740 0.739 1.014 0.803 0.437
10 years or more 1.262 1.291 1.269 1.110 0.935 1.072 1.072 1.074 1.093 1.015 1.010 1.059 0.880 0.790 0.911 0.660 0.366
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       1.032 0.852 0.938 1.021 0.969 0.909 0.959 0.913 0.904 0.763 0.726 0.915 0.666 0.476
At least one contingent asset       1.242 1.009 1.055 1.141 1.104 0.995 1.019 0.868 0.882 0.771 0.726 0.914 0.704 0.506
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 0.948 0.887 0.888 0.994 0.703 0.670 0.897 0.786 0.645 0.787 0.794 0.829 0.709 0.746 0.903 0.662 0.244
70% to less than 80% 1.233 1.180 1.248 1.152 0.954 0.914 1.087 1.111 0.913 0.981 1.028 0.950 0.798 0.783 0.967 0.695 0.377
80% to less than 90% 1.728 1.244 1.350 1.122 0.950 0.996 1.141 1.118 1.012 1.019 0.999 0.962 0.782 0.768 0.847 0.692 0.509
90% to less than 100% 1.395 1.278 1.359 1.072 0.910 1.108 1.055 1.052 1.011 1.024 0.828 0.921 0.788 0.701 0.919 0.603 0.446
100% or greater               0.762 0.849 0.933 0.831 0.820 0.742 0.694 0.940 0.709 0.515

Table 4.5: Average outperformance of the nominal SEDR over greater than 15 year AA rated corporate bonds by scheme characteristics (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Mean percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 0.578 0.286 -0.643 -1.33 -0.055 -0.077 -0.301 0.014 0.207 0.117 -0.088 0.220 0.002 -0.085 -0.035 0.039 -0.333
Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 0.251 0.085 -0.874 -1.500 -0.312 -0.367 -0.521 -0.245 -0.048 -0.001 -0.169 0.161 0.023 -0.084 0.029 0.151 -0.288
100 to fewer than 500 members 0.904 0.373 -0.552 -1.327 0.003 -0.008 -0.228 0.110 0.282 0.220 0.011 0.324 0.085 -0.010 -0.012 0.040 -0.388
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 0.515 0.456 -0.525 -1.257 0.208 0.121 -0.120 0.205 0.372 0.162 -0.077 0.247 -0.058 -0.157 -0.075 -0.101 -0.267
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 0.515 0.382 -0.496 -1.185 0.066 0.154 -0.134 0.142 0.421 0.135 -0.096 0.139 -0.070 -0.131 -0.150 -0.070 -0.353
5,000 members or more 0.497 0.305 -0.578 -1.126 0.151 0.198 -0.215 0.252 0.451 0.070 -0.176 0.095 -0.196 -0.284 -0.180 -0.005 -0.346
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 0.205 0.073 -0.926 -1.539 -0.347 -0.417 -0.587 -0.337 -0.123 -0.058 -0.252 0.099 0.005 -0.142 0.097 0.197 -0.290
£5m to less than £20m 0.552 0.362 -0.581 -1.324 -0.043 -0.124 -0.308 0.029 0.194 0.173 0.028 0.340 0.121 0.052 0.099 0.117 -0.292
£20m to less than £100m 0.523 0.408 -0.530 -1.266 0.110 0.081 -0.187 0.165 0.329 0.222 -0.017 0.294 0.055 -0.069 -0.074 0.050 -0.364
£100m to less than £300m 2.079 0.348 -0.497 -1.178 0.015 0.151 -0.218 0.131 0.364 0.112 -0.122 0.118 -0.043 -0.105 -0.153 -0.042 -0.346
£300m or greater 0.450 0.341 -0.580 -1.169 0.144 0.089 -0.200 0.192 0.365 0.036 -0.209 0.071 -0.236 -0.268 -0.192 -0.141 -0.378
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 0.343 0.146 -0.800 -1.480 -0.201 -0.295 -0.399 -0.080 -0.021 0.060 -0.213 0.166 0.048 -0.093 0.088 0.262 -0.190
25% to less than 50% 0.549 0.439 -0.492 -1.206 0.054 0.059 -0.168 0.143 0.365 0.211 0.000 0.317 0.079 0.013 0.002 0.109 -0.245
50% to less than 75% 1.503 0.369 -0.623 -1.277 0.013 -0.048 -0.345 -0.029 0.212 0.073 -0.044 0.150 -0.082 -0.170 -0.125 -0.095 -0.429
75% or greater -0.168 -0.020 -1.090 -1.701 -0.537 -0.456 -0.853 -0.679 -0.249 -0.321 -0.554 -0.015 -0.303 -0.354 0.016 -0.147 -0.521
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 0.662 0.340 -0.566 -1.248 0.018 0.056 -0.207 0.122 0.332 0.200 -0.011 0.344 0.090 0.021 0.146 0.167 -0.168
TPs not reported for active members 0.280 0.146 -0.814 -1.510 -0.176 -0.268 -0.419 -0.102 0.070 0.044 -0.146 0.126 -0.050 -0.144 -0.161 -0.019 -0.403
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             -0.216 0.029 0.394 0.082 -0.148 0.202 0.044 -0.007 -0.080 0.044 -0.401
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             -0.231 0.133 0.262 0.144 -0.082 0.277 0.065 -0.027 -0.101 0.068 -0.350
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             -0.281 0.073 0.259 0.161 -0.008 0.251 -0.014 -0.124 -0.256 -0.150 -0.251
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             -0.423 -0.117 0.052 0.070 -0.149 0.151 -0.128 -0.083 -0.072 0.050 -0.556
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 0.894 0.229 -0.615 -1.401 -0.146 -0.124 -0.407 -0.088 0.099 0.044 -0.214 0.127 -0.031 -0.120 -0.156 0.006 -0.348
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 0.391 0.275 -0.631 -1.393 -0.092 -0.112 -0.300 0.053 0.209 0.166 -0.056 0.225 0.061 -0.005 0.047 -0.050 -0.384
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 0.512 0.300 -0.635 -1.303 0.032 -0.100 -0.184 0.127 0.277 0.231 0.034 0.330 -0.022 -0.064 -0.042 0.168 -0.372
10 years or more 0.474 0.394 -0.695 -1.287 -0.013 0.031 -0.276 0.095 0.373 0.168 0.015 0.377 0.097 -0.015 -0.102 0.027 -0.426
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       -1.360 -0.093 -0.103 -0.325 -0.011 0.191 0.105 -0.078 0.225 0.000 -0.085 -0.030 0.032 -0.335
At least one contingent asset       -1.182 0.077 0.017 -0.223 0.115 0.278 0.164 -0.130 0.198 0.011 -0.084 -0.059 0.068 -0.312
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 0.160 -0.020 -1.074 -1.402 -0.272 -0.372 -0.457 -0.206 -0.074 -0.068 -0.205 0.149 -0.063 -0.067 -0.150 0.021 -0.569
70% to less than 80% 0.445 0.283 -0.681 -1.246 0.007 -0.124 -0.266 0.133 0.191 0.128 0.039 0.268 0.024 -0.030 -0.096 0.057 -0.425
80% to less than 90% 0.939 0.351 -0.503 -1.288 0.022 -0.044 -0.205 0.139 0.292 0.172 0.006 0.281 0.011 -0.047 -0.165 0.053 -0.299
90% to less than 100% 0.605 0.374 -0.468 -1.314 -0.009 0.065 -0.295 0.071 0.296 0.168 -0.164 0.241 0.025 -0.110 0.025 -0.032 -0.376
100% or greater               -0.214 0.135 0.074 -0.159 0.143 -0.010 -0.114 0.101 0.080 -0.299

Table 4.6: Average real SEDR by scheme characteristics (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Mean percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 2.253 2.253 2.095 2.134 1.687 1.645 0.990 0.732 0.927 0.151 0.085 -0.678 -0.773 -1.045 -1.116 -1.553 -1.515
Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 2.054 2.054 1.885 2.005 1.521 1.434 0.893 0.622 0.729 0.141 0.067 -0.690 -0.720 -0.974 -1.057 -1.431 -1.486
100 to fewer than 500 members 2.385 2.327 2.191 2.158 1.747 1.704 1.071 0.832 0.980 0.215 0.178 -0.597 -0.700 -1.005 -1.102 -1.551 -1.509
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 2.268 2.438 2.232 2.204 1.894 1.785 1.079 0.797 1.057 0.176 0.039 -0.676 -0.824 -1.192 -1.241 -1.687 -1.460
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 2.296 2.359 2.202 2.226 1.759 1.802 1.049 0.729 1.086 0.126 0.030 -0.796 -0.887 -1.120 -1.164 -1.713 -1.628
5,000 members or more 2.266 2.293 2.078 2.206 1.659 1.814 0.919 0.661 1.140 -0.053 -0.149 -0.819 -1.002 -1.268 -1.199 -1.553 -1.600
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 2.036 2.050 1.863 1.995 1.502 1.424 0.866 0.589 0.727 0.117 0.025 -0.706 -0.718 -1.003 -0.937 -1.373 -1.463
£5m to less than £20m 2.357 2.319 2.165 2.154 1.733 1.610 1.040 0.773 0.903 0.219 0.218 -0.553 -0.642 -0.905 -0.989 -1.509 -1.445
£20m to less than £100m 2.284 2.382 2.191 2.202 1.806 1.780 1.064 0.835 1.004 0.223 0.149 -0.631 -0.738 -1.044 -1.187 -1.524 -1.532
£100m to less than £300m 2.469 2.287 2.202 2.214 1.711 1.806 0.946 0.710 1.048 0.104 -0.030 -0.832 -0.830 -1.124 -1.253 -1.612 -1.527
£300m or greater 2.222 2.316 2.058 2.142 1.673 1.646 0.946 0.670 1.033 -0.038 -0.149 -0.845 -1.044 -1.270 -1.210 -1.754 -1.655
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 2.214 2.191 2.019 2.071 1.647 1.522 0.981 0.728 0.801 0.185 0.030 -0.666 -0.677 -0.980 -0.895 -1.277 -1.334
25% to less than 50% 2.300 2.362 2.208 2.200 1.772 1.757 1.097 0.828 1.059 0.221 0.141 -0.605 -0.715 -0.952 -1.083 -1.466 -1.451
50% to less than 75% 2.310 2.181 2.010 2.133 1.624 1.594 0.863 0.660 0.879 0.037 0.105 -0.781 -0.873 -1.176 -1.238 -1.702 -1.592
75% or greater 1.641 1.968 1.688 1.941 1.130 1.376 0.647 -0.191 0.515 -0.088 -0.317 -0.794 -1.017 -1.263 -1.048 -1.840 -1.751
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 2.293 2.302 2.160 2.198 1.732 1.747 1.067 0.818 1.062 0.236 0.154 -0.539 -0.691 -0.937 -0.906 -1.416 -1.396
TPs not reported for active members 2.111 2.124 1.950 1.993 1.612 1.499 0.894 0.638 0.782 0.079 0.032 -0.785 -0.823 -1.104 -1.263 -1.614 -1.567
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             1.053 0.729 1.138 0.042 -0.033 -0.766 -0.722 -0.971 -1.142 -1.597 -1.660
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             1.053 0.787 0.969 0.153 0.079 -0.623 -0.719 -1.030 -1.188 -1.537 -1.466
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             0.977 0.781 0.947 0.182 0.139 -0.665 -0.807 -1.095 -1.312 -1.749 -1.449
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             0.938 0.651 0.758 0.092 0.028 -0.733 -0.889 -0.997 -1.169 -1.526 -1.820
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 2.205 2.216 2.051 2.039 1.599 1.599 0.900 0.623 0.796 0.051 -0.014 -0.780 -0.795 -1.062 -1.228 -1.574 -1.543
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 2.211 2.267 2.102 2.021 1.652 1.601 0.955 0.774 0.923 0.205 0.101 -0.683 -0.748 -1.000 -1.078 -1.719 -1.477
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 2.291 2.257 2.111 2.193 1.764 1.641 1.093 0.795 0.990 0.247 0.122 -0.616 -0.840 -1.062 -1.047 -1.451 -1.623
10 years or more 2.275 2.333 2.120 2.182 1.728 1.744 1.035 0.800 1.100 0.153 0.185 -0.524 -0.674 -1.015 -1.149 -1.536 -1.746
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       2.128 1.675 1.635 0.995 0.732 0.921 0.148 0.114 -0.664 -0.769 -1.037 -1.118 -1.561 -1.514
At least one contingent asset       2.167 1.731 1.679 0.976 0.729 0.960 0.161 -0.034 -0.743 -0.791 -1.086 -1.110 -1.514 -1.527
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 1.983 1.977 1.795 2.055 1.522 1.415 0.883 0.573 0.699 -0.016 -0.004 -0.753 -0.813 -0.992 -1.173 -1.563 -1.818
70% to less than 80% 2.240 2.238 2.093 2.219 1.723 1.588 1.009 0.821 0.926 0.166 0.203 -0.648 -0.764 -1.018 -1.154 -1.561 -1.670
80% to less than 90% 2.350 2.319 2.185 2.205 1.756 1.642 1.051 0.825 0.986 0.133 0.160 -0.633 -0.772 -1.009 -1.238 -1.557 -1.429
90% to less than 100% 2.381 2.334 2.199 2.144 1.724 1.801 1.011 0.718 0.988 0.190 -0.023 -0.675 -0.764 -1.094 -1.071 -1.634 -1.533
100% or greater               0.638 0.888 0.198 0.068 -0.707 -0.773 -1.054 -1.013 -1.488 -1.473

Table 4.7: Average outperformance of the real SEDR over the 20 year spot rate on UK gilts by scheme characteristics (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Mean percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 1.061 0.979 1.134 1.050 0.833 0.907 1.013 0.981 0.900 0.985 0.994 1.065 0.874 0.911 1.120 0.839 0.609
Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 0.859 0.784 0.922 0.916 0.665 0.706 0.915 0.829 0.704 0.968 0.974 1.042 0.921 0.959 1.172 0.951 0.646
100 to fewer than 500 members 1.188 1.055 1.225 1.074 0.890 0.961 1.094 1.083 0.954 1.048 1.091 1.152 0.945 0.969 1.143 0.849 0.556
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 1.078 1.145 1.279 1.125 1.036 1.049 1.115 1.082 1.033 1.016 0.953 1.077 0.831 0.766 0.995 0.704 0.715
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 1.111 1.085 1.247 1.136 0.909 1.065 1.075 1.009 1.050 0.972 0.938 0.953 0.764 0.840 1.072 0.693 0.554
5,000 members or more 1.085 1.014 1.120 1.139 0.823 1.059 0.931 0.987 1.099 0.786 0.760 0.926 0.663 0.700 1.032 0.819 0.626
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 0.837 0.778 0.907 0.904 0.644 0.697 0.876 0.787 0.705 0.943 0.921 1.023 0.922 0.931 1.289 1.000 0.641
£5m to less than £20m 1.157 1.050 1.190 1.067 0.875 0.869 1.063 1.019 0.883 1.051 1.137 1.183 0.998 1.051 1.251 0.875 0.636
£20m to less than £100m 1.097 1.099 1.239 1.119 0.951 1.040 1.089 1.087 0.974 1.057 1.052 1.124 0.909 0.911 1.057 0.874 0.587
£100m to less than £300m 1.295 1.018 1.241 1.136 0.854 1.068 0.982 0.987 1.004 0.948 0.900 0.912 0.824 0.852 0.972 0.790 0.594
£300m or greater 1.038 1.032 1.113 1.076 0.835 0.903 0.965 0.994 1.002 0.803 0.761 0.901 0.616 0.695 1.027 0.642 0.581
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 1.014 0.916 1.056 0.986 0.789 0.799 1.003 0.982 0.775 1.018 0.919 1.063 0.966 0.965 1.330 1.101 0.792
25% to less than 50% 1.111 1.090 1.247 1.118 0.916 1.020 1.120 1.073 1.036 1.055 1.052 1.143 0.932 1.006 1.163 0.934 0.719
50% to less than 75% 1.128 0.898 1.057 1.048 0.782 0.840 0.882 0.913 0.847 0.872 1.027 0.967 0.776 0.786 0.993 0.686 0.489
75% or greater 0.467 0.716 0.702 0.859 0.264 0.613 0.703 0.076 0.463 0.742 0.615 0.931 0.633 0.681 1.187 0.541 0.350
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 1.104 1.030 1.200 1.115 0.878 1.018 1.089 1.062 1.031 1.068 1.052 1.200 0.958 1.003 1.323 0.972 0.784
TPs not reported for active members 0.904 0.844 0.986 0.906 0.756 0.748 0.916 0.894 0.758 0.914 0.951 0.961 0.824 0.860 0.979 0.779 0.534
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             1.072 0.970 1.093 0.876 0.883 0.983 0.925 0.962 1.119 0.816 0.522
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             1.076 1.050 0.949 0.996 0.995 1.127 0.931 0.939 1.069 0.860 0.589
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             1.004 1.028 0.929 1.021 1.054 1.075 0.844 0.864 0.943 0.656 0.713
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             0.967 0.911 0.729 0.914 0.922 1.012 0.757 0.956 1.092 0.870 0.328
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 1.013 0.940 1.081 0.966 0.743 0.861 0.930 0.876 0.762 0.883 0.886 0.962 0.852 0.868 1.017 0.821 0.596
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 1.021 0.984 1.149 0.943 0.795 0.847 0.973 1.000 0.900 1.031 0.997 1.061 0.903 0.978 1.190 0.697 0.553
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 1.100 0.985 1.150 1.105 0.911 0.904 1.111 1.039 0.973 1.089 1.056 1.137 0.801 0.920 1.198 0.953 0.536
10 years or more 1.080 1.064 1.171 1.092 0.875 1.017 1.056 1.073 1.075 1.008 1.113 1.227 0.976 0.982 1.114 0.874 0.423
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       1.043 0.818 0.901 1.016 0.977 0.894 0.983 1.026 1.075 0.879 0.916 1.120 0.826 0.609
At least one contingent asset       1.085 0.883 0.929 1.000 0.995 0.926 0.993 0.870 1.017 0.856 0.885 1.121 0.898 0.609
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 0.795 0.717 0.837 0.963 0.671 0.693 0.909 0.809 0.674 0.847 0.924 1.002 0.833 0.961 1.107 0.864 0.312
70% to less than 80% 1.046 0.970 1.136 1.135 0.866 0.845 1.037 1.075 0.908 1.003 1.130 1.105 0.883 0.971 1.107 0.849 0.485
80% to less than 90% 1.161 1.042 1.224 1.131 0.899 0.900 1.066 1.094 0.966 0.973 1.070 1.115 0.875 0.952 1.022 0.839 0.671
90% to less than 100% 1.180 1.050 1.234 1.082 0.871 1.065 1.032 0.961 0.952 1.013 0.882 1.060 0.883 0.848 1.159 0.765 0.564
100% or greater               0.866 0.854 1.021 0.956 1.025 0.874 0.898 1.176 0.883 0.653

Table 4.8: Distribution of the nominal SEDR (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Rate percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 6.300 6.560 6.700 6.500 6.360 6.300 5.320 5.160 5.480 4.523 4.395 4.081 3.740 3.500 3.437 2.923 3.580
Upper quartile 5.790 6.040 6.220 5.910 5.870 5.780 4.770 4.550 4.910 3.828 3.700 3.180 3.000 2.800 2.310 2.230 2.720
Median 5.360 5.620 5.870 5.500 5.500 5.420 4.370 4.130 4.505 3.415 3.290 2.700 2.615 2.430 1.820 1.825 2.280
Lower quartile 5.000 5.300 5.500 5.010 5.110 5.000 3.940 3.690 4.100 3.030 2.870 2.250 2.200 2.050 1.450 1.510 1.840
5th percentile 4.375 4.614 4.800 4.250 4.320 4.260 3.047 2.816 3.419 2.300 2.150 1.700 1.660 1.480 1.056 1.100 1.249

Table 4.9a: Distribution of the outperformance of the nominal SEDR over nominal 20 year UK gilts (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Rate percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 2.154 2.100 2.135 2.070 1.780 1.884 2.032 2.030 1.900 1.990 1.930 2.200 1.872 1.818 2.274 1.780 1.407
Upper quartile 1.660 1.590 1.620 1.510 1.280 1.360 1.490 1.440 1.330 1.340 1.290 1.330 1.150 1.100 1.310 1.000 0.840
Median 1.240 1.180 1.300 1.150 0.935 0.990 1.115 1.060 0.950 0.990 0.920 0.865 0.770 0.730 0.850 0.670 0.510
Lower quartile 0.840 0.830 0.910 0.650 0.570 0.600 0.670 0.610 0.520 0.613 0.510 0.420 0.350 0.360 0.510 0.370 0.200
5th percentile 0.206 0.186 0.205 -0.101 -0.230 -0.130 -0.170 -0.240 -0.140 -0.100 -0.190 -0.160 -0.160 -0.160 -0.037 -0.150 -0.240

Table 4.9b: Distribution of the outperformance of the nominal SEDR over greater than 15 year AA rated corporate bonds (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Rate percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 1.370 1.200 0.480 -0.176 0.810 0.834 0.692 1.050 1.190 1.123 0.965 1.530 1.080 1.010 1.467 1.107 0.690
Upper quartile 0.870 0.690 -0.150 -0.860 0.340 0.330 0.150 0.450 0.610 0.490 0.290 0.657 0.380 0.290 0.380 0.350 0.040
Median 0.450 0.280 -0.630 -1.310 0.000 -0.030 -0.230 0.080 0.230 0.150 -0.080 0.180 0.010 -0.070 -0.060 0.030 -0.310
Lower quartile 0.050 -0.050 -1.105 -1.770 -0.410 -0.440 -0.660 -0.380 -0.190 -0.250 -0.490 -0.260 -0.422 -0.440 -0.510 -0.260 -0.610
5th percentile -0.590 -0.710 -1.840 -2.530 -1.170 -1.184 -1.580 -1.230 -0.850 -0.980 -1.160 -0.841 -0.970 -0.980 -1.097 -0.763 -1.150

Table 4.10: Distribution of the real SEDR (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Rate Percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 3.108 3.067 2.927 3.194 2.550 2.557 1.966 1.791 1.984 1.177 1.162 0.764 0.290 0.027 0.485 -0.485 -0.095
Upper quartile 2.606 2.614 2.444 2.541 2.052 1.987 1.403 1.173 1.263 0.541 0.484 -0.295 -0.388 -0.659 -0.750 -1.178 -1.106
Median 2.238 2.254 2.136 2.171 1.739 1.688 1.035 0.774 0.916 0.189 0.101 -0.750 -0.770 -1.015 -1.167 -1.523 -1.513
Lower quartile 1.942 1.967 1.789 1.756 1.389 1.313 0.648 0.366 0.580 -0.206 -0.291 -1.125 -1.159 -1.358 -1.504 -1.822 -1.857
5th percentile 1.257 1.302 1.064 0.899 0.679 0.674 -0.097 -0.435 -0.041 -0.879 -0.954 -1.684 -1.646 -1.936 -1.985 -2.286 -2.513

Table 4.11: Distribution of the outperformance of the real SEDR over the 20 year spot rate on UK gilts (tranches 1-7: schemes in deficit only, tranches 8-14: all schemes)

Rate percentage (%) - Tranche

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 1.893 1.784 1.979 2.078 1.678 1.848 1.970 1.952 1.991 1.955 2.023 2.426 1.942 1.948 2.643 1.974 1.590
Upper quartile 1.405 1.338 1.491 1.462 1.189 1.253 1.432 1.383 1.230 1.363 1.370 1.453 1.240 1.270 1.519 1.219 1.005
Median 1.052 0.991 1.167 1.099 0.895 0.938 1.050 1.032 0.893 1.029 1.034 1.020 0.886 0.949 1.053 0.88 0.697
Lower quartile 0.747 0.709 0.839 0.688 0.527 0.568 0.674 0.650 0.543 0.656 0.629 0.608 0.501 0.607 0.758 0.59 0.380
5th percentile 0.047 0.017 0.113 -0.137 -0.182 -0.071 -0.081 -0.119 -0.056 -0.039 -0.012 0.069 -0.004 0.038 0.222 0.023 -0.301

Mortality assumptions

Table 5.1: Base mortality tables (schemes in deficit only)

Tranche (percentage of schemes)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
92 series 97 74 37 13 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
00 series 2 24 55 37 32 19 13 9 8 5 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
SAPS series 0 1 6 45 60 76 81 87 89 92 94 96 93 85 88 86 96
Other series 1 1 2 6 2 3 5 4 3 3 4 2 5 15 12 14 4

Table 5.2: Loadings applied to base mortality tables (schemes in deficit only)

Tranche (years)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No loading 75 65 53 49 50 49 46 50 49 44 46 47 44 43 45 45 34
Rating by age 18 22 23 19 13 12 13 9 9 9 6 7 5 5 3 5 2
Percentage adjustment to q(x) 7 13 22 25 27 28 29 30 30 37 36 36 42 43 39 41 52
SAPS series light / heavy 0 0 1 4 5 5 6 6 5 5 5 4 3 4 5 3 4
Combination of two or more of the above 0 0 1 4 5 6 5 6 6 7 7 6 6 5 7 7 8

Table 5.3: q(x) adjustments to base mortality tables (tranche 17 schemes in deficit only)

Base table (percentage of schemes)

SAPS Series Other Series Total
No qX loading 39 90 41
Less than 80% 0 0 0
80% to 100% 25 10 24
100% to 120% 32 0 31
Over 120% 4 0 4
Total 96 4 100

Table 5.4: Adjustments to base mortality table from valuation date (schemes in deficit only)

Tranche (percentage of schemes)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
None / Not stated 22 13 10 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 2
92 base adjustment 19 7 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Short cohort projection 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Medium cohort projection 46 61 51 56 35 16 9 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Long cohort projection 1 13 33 35 28 13 6 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CMI projection 0 0 0 2 31 67 80 90 92 93 95 95 96 96 95 97 96
Other projection 9 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 1
Use of a long-term rate of improvement * 2 22 60 86 92 93 93 96 95 94 94 95 95 97 92 97 96

* Normally in combination with other items

Table 5.5: Size of improvement adopted by tranche (schemes in deficit only)

Tranche (percentage of schemes)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
None / Not stated 98 78 40 14 8 7 7 4 5 6 6 5 5 3 8 3 4
1% or less 2 17 44 59 49 27 15 8 8 3 2 3 3 4 5 7 6
Greater than 1% to less than 1.5% 0 2 5 10 18 17 17 14 8 8 8 9 10 9 7 7 7
1.5% 0 4 10 16 22 42 54 64 64 69 70 66 69 69 63 66 65
Greater than 1.5% to less than 2.0% 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 6 7 8 10 9 9 12 11 12
2.00% or greater 0 0 0 1 1 5 5 7 8 6 6 7 5 5 5 6 7

Life expectancy

Table 6.1a: Distribution of life expectancies for future male pensioners aged 45 (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche (years)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 89.0 90.7 91.6 91.5 91.9 92.4 92.4 92.4 92.3 92.2 91.9 91.5 90.7 90.5 90.5 90.4 90.3
Upper quartile 88.0 88.7 89.9 90.2 90.4 90.8 90.9 90.7 90.8 90.7 90.5 90.0 89.7 89.4 89.4 89.4 89.3
Median 87.0 88.0 89.0 89.2 89.5 89.7 89.8 89.9 89.9 89.8 89.7 89.3 88.9 88.7 88.7 88.7 88.7
Lower quartile 85.8 87.1 88.0 88.1 88.4 88.9 89.1 89.3 89.3 89.4 89.4 88.8 88.5 88.2 88.2 88.2 88.1
5th percentile 84.4 84.9 86.3 86.8 87.1 87.6 87.9 88.1 88.1 88.3 88.0 87.7 87.3 87.0 87.2 87.0 87.0

Table 6.1b: Distribution of life expectancies for current male pensioners aged 65 (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche (years)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 87.7 88.6 89.0 89.0 89.2 89.4 89.8 89.5 89.5 89.6 89.4 89.1 88.8 88.8 88.8 88.7 88.6
Upper quartile 86.8 87.0 87.9 88.0 88.1 88.5 88.5 88.5 88.6 88.5 88.3 88.2 87.9 87.7 87.7 87.6 87.6
Median 86.0 86.9 87.0 87.2 87.3 87.6 87.7 87.8 87.7 87.7 87.7 87.4 87.2 87.1 87.1 87.1 87.1
Lower quartile 84.8 86.0 86.1 86.2 86.6 86.9 87.2 87.4 87.3 87.4 87.3 87.1 86.9 86.6 86.7 86.7 86.5
5th percentile 83.5 84.0 84.8 85.1 85.3 85.8 86.0 86.1 86.2 86.4 86.2 86.0 85.8 85.4 85.6 85.4 85.5

Table 6.1c: Distribution of life expectancies for future female pensioners aged 45 (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche (years)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 91.8 93.0 93.4 93.4 93.7 94.2 94.3 94.4 94.3 94.1 94 93.3 92.7 92.3 92.5 92.4 92.4
Upper quartile 90.8 91.3 92.4 92.4 92.5 92.7 92.8 92.9 92.8 92.9 92.7 92.0 91.6 91.5 91.5 91.6 91.6
Median 89.8 90.8 91.3 91.5 91.6 91.9 92.1 92.3 92.1 92.0 91.9 91.2 91.0 90.9 91.1 91.2 91.2
Lower quartile 88.8 89.8 90.2 90.6 90.8 91.0 91.4 91.6 91.3 91.5 91.5 90.8 90.7 90.4 90.5 90.7 90.6
5th percentile 87.3 87.8 88.6 89.1 89.3 89.9 90.1 90.5 90.4 90.5 90.3 89.8 89.7 89.4 89.6 89.8 89.6

Table 6.1d: Distribution of life expectancies for current female pensioners aged 65 (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche (years)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
95th percentile 90.6 91.5 91.7 91.3 91.4 91.5 91.6 91.6 91.5 91.4 91.4 91.1 90.6 90.5 90.7 90.6 90.6
Upper quartile 89.7 89.9 90.5 90.4 90.5 90.5 90.6 90.6 90.5 90.5 90.3 90.0 89.7 89.7 89.7 89.8 89.8
Median 88.8 89.7 89.6 89.6 89.6 89.8 89.9 90.0 89.8 89.8 89.6 89.4 89.2 89.2 89.3 89.4 89.5
Lower quartile 87.7 88.6 88.7 88.7 88.9 89.1 89.4 89.6 89.3 89.4 89.4 89.0 88.9 88.7 88.8 89.0 88.8
5th percentile 86.5 86.9 87.2 87.6 87.6 88.2 88.3 88.4 88.3 88.5 88.3 88.1 87.9 87.7 87.9 88.0 88.0

Table 6.2a: Average life expectancies for current male pensioners aged 65 by scheme characteristics (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche (years)

Current male pensioners aged 65
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 85.7 86.5 87 87.1 87.3 87.7 87.8 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.8 87.6 87.4 87.2 87.2 87.2 87.1
Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 85.9 86.7 87.4 87.4 87.6 87.8 87.9 88.0 87.9 87.9 87.7 87.6 87.4 87.1 87.2 87.1 87.1
100 to fewer than 500 members 85.8 86.6 87.0 87.1 87.2 87.6 87.8 87.7 87.8 87.9 87.7 87.5 87.4 87.2 87.2 87.2 87.1
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 85.7 86.4 86.8 86.7 87.2 87.6 87.8 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.7 87.5 87.5 87.3 87.3 87.3
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 85.5 86.3 86.6 86.8 87.3 87.4 87.8 87.9 87.8 87.9 87.8 87.5 87.5 87.3 87.2 87.3 87.4
5,000 members or more 85.2 86.1 86.5 86.7 87.2 87.6 87.7 88.1 87.9 87.8 88.0 87.7 87.2 87.5 87.3 87.1 86.9
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 85.9 86.6 87.4 87.2 87.4 87.6 87.6 87.8 87.7 87.6 87.6 87.4 87.2 86.8 86.9 87.0 86.9
£5m to less than £20m 85.7 86.6 86.9 87.2 87.2 87.6 87.8 87.7 87.8 87.9 87.5 87.4 87.3 87.0 87.0 87.0 87.0
£20m to less than £100m 85.6 86.6 86.9 87.0 87.4 87.7 87.9 87.9 88.0 88.0 87.8 87.6 87.5 87.3 87.3 87.2 87.2
£100m to less than £300m 85.7 86.3 86.6 87.1 87.2 87.5 87.9 88.1 88.0 88.0 88.1 87.8 87.6 87.6 87.4 87.5 87.4
£300m or greater 85.4 86.2 86.7 86.8 87.4 87.9 87.9 88.2 88.0 88.0 88.1 87.8 87.5 87.5 87.4 87.3 87.5
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 85.9 86.7 87.2 87.3 87.5 87.8 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.8 87.8 87.5 87.4 87.0 87.1 87.0 87.1
25% to less than 50% 85.6 86.4 86.8 86.9 87.2 87.6 87.8 87.9 87.8 87.9 87.7 87.5 87.4 87.2 87.2 87.2 87.1
50% to less than 75% 85.5 86.4 86.7 87.1 87.3 87.6 87.7 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.8 87.5 87.4 87.2 87.2 87.2 87.2
75% or greater 85.7 87.3 87.0 87.6 87.7 88.2 88.5 88.1 88.4 88.4 88.1 88.0 87.6 87.7 87.5 87.6 87.5
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 85.7 86.5 86.9 87.1 87.4 87.6 87.8 87.9 87.8 87.9 87.8 87.6 87.3 87.3 87.2 87.2 87.3
TPs not reported for active members 85.9 86.6 87.2 87.1 87.3 87.7 87.7 87.8 87.9 87.9 87.7 87.5 87.4 87.2 87.2 87.2 87.1
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             88.1 88.0 88.0 88.2 88.0 87.7 87.8 87.4 87.4 87.2 87.5
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             87.8 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.8 87.5 87.3 87.1 87.2 87.2 87.0
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             87.7 87.9 87.8 87.9 87.7 87.6 87.2 87.1 87.0 87.1 87.0
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             87.7 87.8 87.9 87.7 87.5 87.4 87.2 86.9 87.0 87.1 86.8
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 85.9 86.7 87.2 87.3 87.4 87.8 88.0 88.0 88.1 88.1 87.8 87.6 87.5 87.2 87.2 87.3 87.2
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 85.9 86.6 87.1 87.3 87.4 87.7 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.8 87.6 87.3 87.1 87.2 87.0 87.0
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 85.8 86.6 87.0 87.2 87.3 87.7 87.9 87.9 87.8 87.7 87.8 87.5 87.1 87.2 87.1 87.0 87.1
10 years or more 85.6 86.6 86.8 86.9 87.2 87.4 87.6 87.7 87.7 87.7 87.6 87.4 87.2 86.8 86.8 86.9 86.7
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       87.1 87.4 87.6 87.8 87.9 87.8 87.9 87.7 87.5 87.4 87.2 87.2 87.2 87.2
At least one contingent asset       87.0 87.1 87.7 87.8 87.8 88.0 87.9 87.8 87.7 87.4 87.3 87.3 87.2 87.1
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 86.1 86.9 87.4 87.1 87.4 87.9 87.7 87.7 87.8 87.9 87.7 87.5 87.4 86.9 86.9 87.0 86.9
70% to less than 80% 85.7 86.7 86.9 87.2 87.3 87.6 87.9 87.9 87.9 87.7 87.7 87.5 87.2 86.9 87.1 87.2 87.0
80% to less than 90% 85.7 86.5 86.9 87.2 87.3 87.7 88.0 87.9 87.9 88.0 87.7 87.6 87.3 87.1 87.2 87.1 87.0
90% to less than 100% 85.6 86.4 87.0 86.7 87.4 87.6 87.7 88.0 88.0 87.9 87.8 87.6 87.4 87.3 87.2 87.2 87.2
100% or greater 85.3 86.4 86.7 86.9 87.6 87.5 87.4 87.9 87.8 87.8 87.9 87.5 87.6 87.4 87.3 87.3 87.2

Table 6.2b: Average life expectancies for future male pensioners aged 45 by scheme characteristics (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Tranche (years)

Current male pensioners aged 65
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
All schemes 86.7 87.9 88.9 88.9 89.3 89.7 89.9 90 90 90 89.9 89.4 89.1 88.9 88.9 88.8 88.8
Size by number of members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 100 members 86.9 87.9 89.2 89.1 89.2 89.9 90.0 90.2 90.1 90.0 89.9 89.5 89.1 88.8 88.8 88.8 88.8
100 to fewer than 500 members 86.7 87.9 88.8 88.9 89.2 89.6 89.9 89.8 90.0 90.0 89.8 89.3 89.2 88.8 88.8 88.8 88.8
500 to fewer than 1,000 members 86.7 87.9 88.7 88.8 89.2 89.7 89.8 90.0 90.1 90.1 90.1 89.5 89.2 89.1 88.9 88.9 88.9
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members 86.6 87.8 88.5 88.5 89.3 89.5 89.8 90.0 89.9 90.0 89.8 89.3 89.2 88.9 88.8 88.9 88.9
5,000 members or more 86.5 87.7 88.6 88.9 89.4 89.6 89.8 90.1 90.1 90.0 90.1 89.6 88.9 89.0 89.0 88.7 88.4
Size by TPs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than £5m 86.8 87.8 89.2 88.7 89.1 89.6 89.6 90.0 89.8 89.7 89.8 89.3 89.0 88.5 88.6 88.7 88.6
£5m to less than £20m 86.7 87.8 88.8 89.1 89.1 89.8 89.9 89.8 89.9 90.0 89.6 89.2 89.0 88.7 88.7 88.6 88.7
£20m to less than £100m 86.7 88.1 88.8 88.9 89.4 89.8 89.9 90.0 90.2 90.1 89.9 89.4 89.2 88.9 89.0 88.9 88.8
£100m to less than £300m 86.8 87.8 88.5 88.7 89.3 89.6 90.0 90.2 90.2 90.2 90.2 89.6 89.3 89.3 89.0 89.1 88.9
£300m or greater 86.6 87.9 88.8 89.0 89.6 89.9 90.1 90.3 90.2 90.1 90.2 89.6 89.3 89.1 89.1 88.9 89.0
Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 25% 86.8 87.9 89.1 88.9 89.4 89.9 90.0 90.0 90.1 89.9 89.9 89.4 89.1 88.7 88.8 88.7 88.8
25% to less than 50% 86.7 87.8 88.6 88.8 89.2 89.7 89.9 90.0 89.9 90.0 89.8 89.4 89.1 88.8 88.9 88.8 88.7
50% to less than 75% 86.6 87.8 88.7 88.9 89.4 89.7 89.8 90.0 90.0 90.0 89.9 89.4 89.1 88.9 88.8 88.8 88.8
75% or greater 86.7 89.1 88.9 89.7 86.6 89.0 90.7 90.2 90.6 90.5 90.5 89.9 89.4 89.4 89.2 89.2 89.2
Presence of active members
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
TPs reported for active members 86.7 87.9 88.8 89.0 89.4 89.7 89.9 90.0 90.0 90.0 89.9 89.4 89.1 88.9 88.9 88.8 88.8
TPs not reported for active members 86.8 87.9 89.1 88.7 89.0 89.8 89.8 90.0 90.1 90.0 89.9 89.4 89.2 88.8 88.8 88.8 88.8
Covenant (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Covenant group 1 (Strong)             90.2 90.1 90.2 90.3 90.2 89.6 89.6 89.0 89.0 88.9 89.1
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong)             89.9 90.0 90.1 90.0 89.9 89.3 89.0 88.8 88.9 88.8 88.7
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak)             89.7 90.0 89.9 90.0 89.8 89.5 88.9 88.7 88.7 88.7 88.6
Covenant group 4 (Weak)             89.8 90.0 90.1 89.8 89.7 89.3 88.9 88.6 88.6 88.7 88.4
RP length (schemes in deficit only)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Fewer than 5 years 86.9 88.1 89.0 89.2 88.8 89.8 90.1 90.1 90.3 90.2 89.9 89.5 89.2 88.9 88.9 88.9 88.8
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 86.9 88.0 89.1 88.9 89.5 89.8 90.0 90.0 90.1 90.1 89.9 89.5 89.0 88.7 88.8 88.6 88.6
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 86.8 87.9 88.8 89.2 89.2 89.8 90.0 90.0 90.0 89.8 90.0 89.4 88.8 88.9 88.7 88.7 88.7
10 years or more 86.7 87.9 88.6 88.4 89.2 89.5 89.7 89.9 89.8 89.9 89.6 89.2 88.9 88.4 88.5 88.5 88.3
Presence of contingent assets
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
No contingent asset       88.9 89.3 89.7 89.9 90.0 90.0 90.0 89.9 89.4 89.1 88.9 88.8 88.8 88.8
At least one contingent asset       88.7 89.2 89.6 89.9 89.9 90.2 90.0 90.0 89.5 89.1 88.9 88.9 88.8 88.7
Funding level (TPs)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Less than 70% 87.1 88.2 89.3 88.8 89.5 90.1 89.8 89.9 90.0 90.0 89.8 89.3 89.0 88.6 88.5 88.6 88.6
70% to less than 80% 86.7 88.0 88.7 89.3 89.4 89.7 90.0 90.0 90.0 89.8 89.8 89.3 88.9 88.6 88.7 88.9 88.5
80% to less than 90% 86.8 87.8 88.8 89.2 88.9 89.8 90.1 90.0 90.0 90.1 89.8 89.5 89.1 88.8 88.9 88.7 88.7
90% to less than 100% 86.6 87.7 88.9 88.0 89.2 89.6 89.7 90.1 90.2 90.0 90.0 89.4 89.2 89.0 88.9 88.8 88.8
100% or greater 86.3 87.8 88.7 88.9 89.6 89.6 89.5 89.9 89.9 89.9 90.0 89.4 89.3 89.0 89.0 88.9 88.9

Table 6.3: Average change in life expectancies for current male pensioners aged 65 by scheme characteristics, tranche 14 versus tranche 17 (schemes in surplus and deficit)

Current male pensioners aged 65

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
All Schemes -0.05 100

Size by number of members

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
Fewer than 100 members -0.04 38
100 to fewer than 500 members -0.01 35
500 to fewer than 1,000 members -0.07 9
1,000 to fewer than 5,000 members -0.04 12
5,000 members or more -0.37 6

Size by TPs

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
Less than £5m 0.01 19
£5m to less than £20m -0.07 25
£20m to less than £100m -0.03 30
£100m to less than £300m -0.07 13
£300m or greater -0.14 14

Maturity (ratio of pensioner TPs to total TPs)

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
Less than 25% -0.09 13
25% to less than 50% -0.05 40
50% to less than 75% -0.02 38
75% or greater 0.04 8

Presence of active members

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
TPs reported for active members -0.14 28
TPs not reported for active members -0.02 72

Covenant (schemes in deficit only)

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
Covenant group 1 (Strong) -0.04 17
Covenant group 2 (Tending to Strong) -0.03 43
Covenant group 3 (Tending to Weak) 0.00 23
Covenant group 4 (Weak) 0.11 17

RP length (schemes in deficit only) 

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
Fewer than 5 years 0.00 68
5 to fewer than 7.5 years 0.19 17
7.5 to fewer than 10 years 0.06 8
10 years or more 0.00 7

Presence of contingent assets

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
No contingent asset -0.05 88
At least one contingent asset -0.05 12

Funding level (TPs)

Change in assumed age at death (years) Percentage of schemes (%)
Less than 70% 0.17 5
70% to less than 80% 0.02 8
80% to less than 90% -0.01 14
90% to less than 100% -0.04 24
100% or greater -0.11 48

Glossary

00 series base mortality table (00 series)

Based on 1999-2002 experience collected from UK insurance companies.

92 series base mortality table (92 series)

Based on 1991-1994 experience collected from UK insurance companies.

08 series base mortality table (08 series)

Based on 2007-2010 experience collected from UK insurance companies.

Actuarial valuation

A comparison by the actuary of the value placed on scheme assets with the TPs and an assessment of any future contribution requirement. Calculation of the TPs is usually based on full member-by-member data.

Buyout liabilities (or s75 or solvency)

This refers to the scheme actuary’s estimate of the cost of securing scheme liabilities with annuities purchased from a regulated insurance company, which may be used as the solvency estimate as part of the actuarial valuation for a scheme in windup. Section 75 (s75) of the Pensions Act 1995 provides for the calculation of a debt on the employer on the buyout basis (s75 debt) if a scheme winds up (or if an employer becomes insolvent or ceases to participate in a multi-employer scheme). Throughout this publication the term ‘buyout’ is used. In a small number of cases, an alternative measure of solvency is submitted to us, in which case this will be the data that has been used in this analysis and there is no distinction made.

Contingent assets

Contingent assets are assets on which a claim by the pension scheme would exist on the occurrence of one or more specified future events (‘the contingent event’), such as movements in corporate asset holdings, increased employer borrowing, employer failure or the failure to achieve a specified funding level. Unless the events occur, these assets are not available to the trustees to meet members’ benefit payments. They are not included as scheme assets for the purpose of assessing whether a scheme meets its statutory funding objective (ie that assets are sufficient to cover TPs) until they are transferred to the scheme.

Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI)

The CMI Mortality Projections, created by the UK Actuarial Profession, are based on a deterministic model driven by user inputs. The model is based on the assumption that current rates of mortality improvement converge to a single long-term rate. CMI_2021, was published in March 2022, CMI_2022 was published in June 2023 and CMI_2023 was published in April 2024.

Deficit reduction contributions (DRCs)

These are contributions made by sponsors to the scheme in order to address any asset to TPs deficit, in line with the Schedule of Contributions and the recovery plan.

Defined benefit (DB)

Benefits are worked out using a formula that is usually related to the members’ pensionable earnings and/ or length of service. These schemes are also referred to as ‘final salary’ or ‘salary-related’ pension schemes.

Different rates

Where separate discount rates are reported in respect of pre-retirement and post-retirement benefits in the valuation of liabilities. (See also ‘Single rates’).

Discount rate

A discount rate is a rate of compound interest which is used to calculate the present value of a sum due at a later time. This action discounts the sum due to its value today. It inherently assumes that the present value is invested and has to earn the chosen discount rate to achieve the sum due at the later time. (See also ‘Single rates’, ‘Different rates’).

Effective date (valuation date)

An actuarial valuation or an actuarial report considers the funding of a scheme as at a particular date, known as the effective date. The effective date will be earlier than the date on which calculations are done. The effective date of a scheme’s first Part 3 valuation cannot be before 22 September 2005.

Part 3 valuation or scheme funding valuation

An actuarial valuation meeting the requirements of Part 3 of the Pensions Act 2004 concerning the funding of DB pension liabilities, which apply to any actuarial valuation received by trustees (on or after 30 December 2005) that is based on an effective date of 22 September 2005 or later.

Pension Protection Fund (PPF)

A corporate body established under the Pensions Act 2004. The PPF was set up to provide compensation to members of eligible DB pension schemes, when there is a qualifying failure event in relation to the employer, and where there are insufficient assets in the pension scheme to cover the PPF level of compensation.

Pension protection levy

This is the annual amount that a pension scheme is charged by the PPF. It is composed of a scheme-based levy and a risk-based levy.

PPF Stressed Asset Ratio

The ratio of the stressed value of assets (as per the PPF’s standard stress approach) to the unstressed market value of assets. The standard approach is carried out by the PPF on behalf of schemes that are not required to and do not opt to carry out a bespoke stress. The stressed assets value is used as a measure of investment risk for the PPF levy calculations.

Recovery plan (RP)

Under Part 3 of the Pensions Act 2004, where there is a funding shortfall at the effective date of the actuarial valuation, the trustees must prepare a plan to achieve full funding in relation to the TPs. The plan to address this shortfall is known as a recovery plan.

Recovery plan length

The recovery plan length is the time that it is assumed it will take for a scheme to eliminate any shortfall at the effective date of the actuarial valuation, so that by the end of the recovery plan it will be fully funded in relation to the TPs.

Scheme

In this publication, ‘scheme’ refers to a segregated section of assets and liabilities. This may represent a pension scheme with a single section, or a segregated section within a sectionalised pension scheme.

Self-administered pension schemes (SAPS) base mortality tables (includes ‘S1’, ‘S2’ ‘S3’ and ‘S4’ series)

Based on mortality experience of UK self-administered pension schemes. In October 2008, the CMI published the ‘S1’ Series; the first mortality tables to be based on UK pension scheme data. The S2 Series was issued in February 2014, the S3 Series was issued in December 2018 and the S4 Series was issued in February 2024.

Section 179 liabilities (s179)

This refers to a valuation of PPF compensation benefits under section 179 of the Pensions Act 2004, for PPF levy purposes. This measure is designed to be a close approximation to the liability measure that would be used to decide whether the PPF would need to take on the scheme were the employer to become insolvent. In contrast to TPs, the assumptions to be used in an s179 valuation are prescribed by the PPF and are standard across all schemes. They are designed such that s179 is close to the cost of securing the valued benefits with an insurance company at the valuation date.

Section 179 (s179) valuation

To calculate the risk-based pension protection levy, the PPF board must take account of scheme underfunding. To obtain a consistent basis for determining underfunding, schemes must complete a PPF valuation (section 179). This valuation will be based on the level of assets and liabilities for the scheme. The liabilities will be based on the scheme benefits, taking into account key features of the levels of compensation paid by the board of the PPF, as set out in Schedule 7 of the Pensions Act 2004.

Short (SC), medium (MC) and long (LC) cohort projections

A number of UK mortality studies have shown that the birth cohort of pensioners born around 1926 is, on average, living longer than those born earlier or later (the ‘golden cohort’). In 2002, the UK Actuarial Profession created three different cohort projections which take account of the ‘golden cohort’ effect, each projecting the future of the ‘golden cohort’ differently. The ‘short cohort’ projections assumed that the ‘extra’ improvement in longevity experienced by the golden cohort will last, for the most fortunate generation, until 2010 (before reverting to ‘normal’ levels of improvement), the ‘medium cohort’ projections assumed the effect will last until 2020 and the ‘long cohort’ projections assume the effect will last until 2040.

Single effective discount rate (SEDR)

A single composite rate and made up of constituents of the different rates reported, allowing approximately for the maturity of schemes. This approach is also used to normalise bases where the discount rate varies year-on-year. Please see the ‘Methodology’ section of this document for greater detail.

Single rates

Where a single discount rate has been reported in respect of the valuation of pre-retirement and post-retirement liabilities.

Technical provisions (TPs)

The funding measure used for the purposes of Part 3 valuations (see above). The ‘TPs’ are a calculation undertaken by the actuary of the assets needed at any particular time to make provision for benefits already considered accrued under the scheme using assumptions prudently chosen by the trustees - in other words, what is required for the scheme to meet the statutory funding objective. These include pensions in payment (including those payable to survivors of former members) and benefits accrued by other members and beneficiaries, which will become payable in the future.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR)

The UK regulator of work-based pension schemes, a non-departmental public body established under the Pensions Act 2004.

Tranches

‘Tranche’ refers to the set of schemes which are required to carry out a scheme-specific funding valuation within a particular time period. Schemes whose valuation dates fell from 22 September 2005 to 21 September 2006 (both dates inclusive) were in tranche 1, from 22 September 2006 to 21 September 2007 were tranche 2 (both dates inclusive), etc. Because scheme-specific funding valuations are generally required every three years, schemes whose valuations are in tranche 1 will also be likely to carry out valuations in tranches 4, 7, 10, 13 and 16.

Triennial valuation cycles (cycles)

Given that all schemes are required to submit a Part 3 valuation to TPR at least every three years, each three year period (three valuation tranches), is referred to as a cycle. Cycle 1 corresponds to the first three valuation tranches (tranches 1, 2 and 3); Cycle 2 the second three valuation tranches (tranches 4, 5 and 6); etc. The majority of Cycle 2 plans (tranches 4, 5 and 6) are second valuations under the scheme funding regime. However, tranches 1 and 4 (2 and 5, and so on) do not constitute a perfect cohort. See the ‘Data coverage’ section in this document for further detail.

Valuation summary

A form to be completed when a recovery plan and schedule of contributions have been agreed by the trustees and the employer, following an actuarial valuation.