Big Schemes Survey 2016: £1bn+

The private sector’s big schemes are the industry’s trend-setters.

Many well-established pension innovations have originated at the larger end of the industry, but have worked their way down to the smaller schemes as they become more refined and accessible.

Our fourth annual survey in relation to private sector DB schemes in the UK with assets of over £1bn covers 160 schemes and focuses on scheme type, asset allocation, investment performance, deficit contributions, and adviser fees.

Some of the highlights from our analysis include:

• 64% of final salary schemes in our survey are closed to new members and a further 33% are also closed to future accrual, leaving just 3% open to new members. The Pensions Regulator’s and Pension Protection Fund’s 2015 Purple Book, covering all PPF-eligible DB schemes, shows 13% of schemes remain open to new members
• 67% of schemes have a deficit on their company accounting basis, which is lower than last year, when 75% of schemes were in deficit
• excluding one significant outlier, the average annual employer deficit contribution was around £97 million
• a significant proportion (23%) of assets have been classed as 'other' i.e. hedge funds and derivatives, or funds where the allocation between equities, gilts, property, etc. could not easily be determined
• the average three-year investment return was around 10.4% per year (for end dates ranging between 31 March 2014 and 31 March 2015), and the five-year return was around 10.2% per year. The one-year return over this period was higher, at around 14.4%
• the average PPF levy paid was £2.75 million
• the average annual investment management fee was around 0.2% of assets, which is unchanged from last year

To request a copy of the full report please complete the form below: