On the go: Oxford Instruments made an additional deficit recovery payment of £8.1m to its defined benefit pension scheme in the year ending in March 2021.
The provider of high-tech products and systems for industry and research has a DB pension scheme that has been closed to new entrants since 2001 and closed to future accrual from 2010.
According to a market announcement, the sponsor has been making deficit recovery payments into the scheme since its latest actuarial valuation review, conducted in 2020.
In 2021, these contributions amounted to £15.5m, of which £8.1m was an additional one-off payment made at the end of year, after which the scheme will further derisk its investment strategy.
Good cash generation increased the group’s net cash position to £97.6m from £67.5m in 2021, which allowed the company to make the additional deficit payment
On an IAS 19 basis, the scheme had a surplus of £16.3m in March 2021, which compares with £30.7m in 2020.
The value of scheme assets increased to £340.2m from £321.4m in the previous year, while liabilities also grew to £323.9m from £290.7m, due to movements in the discount rate and inflation rate, Oxford Instruments stated.
The cash contributions into the scheme were expected to continue until early 2026, at which point Oxford Instruments expects the scheme to achieve self-sufficiency, it added.
