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Latest funding and surplus news
Always A Pensions Angle: Probing amendments and Panglossian optimism
Nick reports from wet and windy Scotland (with trainee guide dog Jenny) as he and Tom dissect the Pension Schemes Bill’s journey through the House of Lords, and mull over what the US’s recent actions mean for portfolios.
AMNT: When is your pension like a Mars bar?
Maggie Rodger, co-chair of the Association of Member-Nominated Trustees, highlights the effects of changes to accruals and contributions made in the wake of the financial crisis, and how these should influence surplus discussion.
DB schemes navigate volatile 2025 to finish with stronger funding position
Defined benefit pension schemes finished 2025 with an aggregate surplus of £259.7bn, according to the latest data from the Pension Protection Fund’s 7800 index.
Outlook 2026: The changing face of DB endgame options
Defined benefit experts give their views on the challenges and opportunities presented by the Pension Schemes Bill and other industry developments.
Surplus sharing dominating scheme decision-making, study shows
UK pension schemes are at a crossroads as surplus distribution challenges dominate decision-making, according to new research from PwC.
Outlook 2026: Beyond the Pensions Schemes Bill – lawyers eye key developments
Pensions Expert quizzes lawyers to find out what they expect to be the key issues that trustees and pension professionals should look out for in 2026.
The PPF Purple Book: Six key charts for the corporate DB sector
The 20th edition of the Pension Protection Fund’s Purple Book shows a gradual but consistent decline in the number of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. But below the surface, the sector remains dynamic with millions of people’s retirements at stake.
More on DB from Pensions Expert
First Actuarial offers financial wellbeing tool to charities
In a recent survey of the charity sector, the consultancy highlighted contrasting fortunes among non-profit groups’ pension schemes – something it aims to address through a renewed partnership.
Finnair lands buyout deal for DB scheme in record time
Finland’s largest airline has insured its UK defined benefit pension scheme, completing the journey from buy-in to buyout in less than two months.
Royal London insures Oxford Instruments scheme in £213m buy-in
The deal marks the insurer’s second biggest buy-in to date and secures the benefits of more than 1,600 pension scheme members.
Small scheme buy-ins driving bulk annuity market as streamlined services thrive
More than 350 bulk annuity transactions were completed in 2025, according to a new estimate, as streamlined processes have opened up the market to smaller pension schemes.
M&G eyes bulk annuity expansion after crossing £1bn mark in 2025
Bulk annuity providers M&G and Just Group have reported on their new business volumes for 2025 amid increasing competition among insurance companies.
Bulk annuities latest: PIC ties up Dr Martens scheme; PMI seals buyout
Plus: Broadstone reveals five micro deals completed in the second half of 2025 as part of the test of Aviva’s new Clarity service for small schemes.
PMI seeks to upskill offshore pension administration provision
The PMI’s chief customer officer is to visit India to meet with staff from administration providers as part of a plan to “raise professional standards across the UK pensions ecosystem”.
Employer group hits out at Teachers Pension Scheme costs
Failure to address the spiralling cost of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme could lead to “institutional failure and closure” of universities that are mandated to participate, according to the Universities and Colleges Employers Association.