UK Defined Benefit Pension Deficits Worsen

With a £2.1bn deficit rise, twenty-year gilt yields ended the month of October at around 0.05% up, while 10-year and 30-year yields were up 0.04% and 0.07%, respectively.

Markets driven by Covid and then the US elections have played a big part, yet even with that, some pension schemes weathered it pretty well. Being mindful of yet further restrictions and lockdowns across the UK, we can expect a high possibility of continued markets volatility as more and more DB schemes get added to the list.

This highlights some key points of the up to date figures of the UK DB Pension Deficits, and the risk of companies collapsing and falling into the PPF, which is also underfunded.

• The combined deficit of UK DB Schemes in the PPF is now at £168.2bn
• The PPF Funding level is now at 91.2% (this means the PPF “lifeboat” can only afford to pay 91.2% of so-called “guaranteed” “protected” benefits)
• The number of schemes in deficit rose to 3617, which represents 67% of the 5422 DB schemes
• “Government initiatives have helped to prevent a surge of unemployment and company collapses; but the Treasury have signaled that these will not be around forever, and the threatof company collapses in particular, should be a major concern for poorly funded schemes”

Are you receiving regular pension reviews with your current advisory/IFA? – If not – now’s the time to think seriously about doing so, especially before the year end. We offer you a FREE consultation with one of our Wealth Managers, with ongoing quarterly reviews and instant access to view all our current investments.

Are you happy with the cost or performance of your current investments? – We can negotiate the lowest costs for you – giving you a better return on your investments.

Has your adviser or consultancy left the country you reside in, or are they based in the UK or another Jurisdiction? – To be insured, registered, and regulated can be very expensive, so a lot of companies are operating from less regulated and therefore cheaper jurisdictions but using the passport scheme to travel to Spain for example, and advise. If you have a UK advisor you trust, we are more than happy to get them involved in a discussion about your assets to compliment your financial strategy, tax efficiency and retirement plans on both sides of the water. 

Do you currently hold assets outside of Spain or Portugal?  – We are offering complimentary reviews via Zoom to help identify areas of vulnerability and tax inefficiencies. Particularly if you have assets in other European countries and there are withholding taxation. We can investigate the Tax treaty and ensure your investments, pension and savings are covered under a double tax treaty.

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