The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has reported a strong year of investment returns and customer service performance, recording a total reserve fund of more than £15bn as of the end of March.
Its latest annual report and accounts, published today (9 July), show a 7.1% investment return from its growth portfolio during the 12 months to 31 March 2026, with assets under management rising to £31.5bn.
It paid out £1.2bn in compensation to PPF members and completed 37 Fraud Compensation Fund claims, paying out a further £100m to nearly 2,800 people.
The lifeboat fund for defined benefit (DB) schemes also reported a member satisfaction score of 97.4%, a decade after fully insourcing its member operations.
PPF readies for changes ahead
Following legislative changes introduced through the Pension Schemes Act, the PPF said it has already made changes to its operations and was preparing for further changes to benefit payments.
Members of the PPF and Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) with benefits accrued prior to April 1997 will begin receiving increases to benefits from January 2027, if their previous scheme promised inflation-linked annual increases. The PPF said it had begun contacting affected members this week about the potential increases.
The change is expected to cost the PPF £1.4bn, less than 10% of its reserve fund.
PPF and FAS members with pre-97 benefits are continuing to push for payments to be backdated, as currently the increases are only forward-looking.
In addition, the Pension Schemes Act abolished the PPF’s administration levy and altered the lifeboat fund’s rules to allow it to reduce the general scheme levy to zero. It has already announced that it will not charge a levy for the 2025-26 or 2026-27 financial years.
Richard Beaven, acting chief executive officer at the PPF, said: “We’ve made excellent progress in the past year delivering on our core purpose, protecting members, and on our business priorities.
“Last year we focused on protecting members’ interests, delivering high standards of service, maintaining our financial resilience, and strengthening the organisation for the future.
“As our focus now shifts to implementing the significant package of PPF and FAS changes from the Pension Schemes Act, the groundwork we’ve put in place means we’re on track to deliver. As we embark on an important year of delivery ahead, we will continue to work collaboratively with all our stakeholders.”
