Pension fund protector sees stellar returns
THE PENSION Protection Fund (PPF) will today announce that it made a surplus of more than £1bn in the last financial year, providing greater security for its 128,000 members.
The statutory body looks after the defined benefit pension schemes of companies that have been declared insolvent.
The fund’s annual report shows total assets under management more than doubled to £11.1bn, while it also achieved an impressive return on invested assets of 25.2 per cent as of March 2012.
But PPF chairman Lady Barbara Judge cautioned against complacency: “Already this year, we have seen claims on the PPF of more than £700m – and a significant deterioration in the deficits of many of the other pension schemes that we protect. We are determined, however, that the PPF should remain strong enough to weather these storms.”
Last month the PPF chose to freeze the levy it charges on solvent final salary pension schemes in recognition of the difficult economic conditions.
The fund remains on track to meet its target of being self-sufficient by 2030.