funding level

UK pension funds finished 2012 in slightly better health than they began the year after a rise in asset values pushed average funding ratios to 90%, according to JLT Pension Capital Solutions.

Scheme sponsors are facing growing pressure to make higher contributions at the same time as their ability to support defined benefit obligations remains depressed, warns PwC.

Jack Jones looks at the key figures in the latest edition of the Purple Book

The Pensions Regulator has defended its decision not to smooth the discount rate by publishing a detailed analysis of the current funding regime.

Schemes are using annual projections of investment ‘outperformance' of up to 1% to help ease their liability calculations, a Punter Southall survey reveals.

Total defined benefit liabilities for UK schemes deflated to £267bn last month after May's record high of £312bn, according to Pension Protection Fund data.

Some of the UK's top firms have been forced to up their longevity increase assumptions after underestimating the rate at which their scheme members' life expectancy is improving, Hymans Robertson said.

Mercer has launched a daily funding monitoring service which will allow schemes to check the value of their scheme assets and liabilities daily.

The liabilities of the FTSE350's schemes have reached 35% of their sponsoring employers' combined market capitalisation, Aon Hewitt says.

Denmark has eased the rules around the discount rate pension schemes use to calculate their liabilities, as schemes struggle with persistently low yields and ballooning deficits.