Schemes suffer funding level drop of 1.5 points in Q2

clock

Scheme funding levels fell by 1.5 percentage points over the second quarter, Investment Solutions research reveals.

The consultant said that, over the second quarter, scheme funding levels fell from 75.6% on 31 March to 74.1% on the 30 June.

It said the fall was due to a three percentage point increase in liability values - a decline offset by a 1.5 percentage point increase in asset values.

Investment Solutions said the increase in liabilities was due to falling gilt yields - yields which had dropped back as investors sought refuge in safe-haven investments such as index-linked and fixed UK government bonds following concerns around peripheral European debt, pushing up the prices of bonds. Increases in bond prices leads to falls in the yield on those bonds.

Despite this, it said equity markers had risen over the quarter - with the FTSE All Share index rising by 1.9% and MSCI World increasing by 0.5% in sterling terms over the period.

More on Investment

Dan Mikulskis: Making the UK a global innovator in retirement products

Dan Mikulskis: Making the UK a global innovator in retirement products

Charlotte Moore speaks to the People’s Partnership CIO about investing for income

Charlotte Moore
clock 11 November 2025 • 8 min read
Partner Insight: Blunt questions, bold results: Turning a pension deficit into surplus

Partner Insight: Blunt questions, bold results: Turning a pension deficit into surplus

A partnership with SEI helped the Joy Global pension scheme turn a stubborn deficit into a surplus and paved the way for a buy-out. The key, says Trustee Jim Parker, was frank communication.

SEI
clock 11 November 2025 • 5 min read
Business leaders call on chancellor to force schemes to invest more in UK

Business leaders call on chancellor to force schemes to invest more in UK

Call for DC schemes to adopt a ‘UK-weighted’ fund as their default arrangement

Jonathan Stapleton
clock 07 November 2025 • 3 min read
Trustpilot