PPF urges industry to up data quality - PP Show

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The industry needs to ensure data quality is of a high standard, the Pension Protection Fund says.

PPF chief operating officer David Heslop told delegates the PPF's ambition was to get the period it takes to get a scheme through the insolvency period down to two years instead of the three to four years it currently takes - but said this was only possible if schemes improve the quality of data they hold.

He said: "We need to do something as an industry to get data up to scratch as moving schemes through the process is hard without good quality data."

Heslop also said the PPF had projected 500,000 scenarios for the future of the fund over the next 10 years.

He said the majority of circumstances showed the fund would come into surplus - with a one-in-two chance of  going into surplus over the next four years. But he said there was a small chance the scheme would end up with a large deficit.

Heslop explained: "There is a one-in-13 chance the deficit will exceed £10bn over the next 10 years. It would not take much imagination to see us there."

He added claims had been more than expected with £1.3bn between end of March last year and end of March this year.

However, Heslop said the PPF was confident in its ability to pay compensation. "We are not an insurance company or pension fund so The Pensions Regulator is not breathing down our neck over deficits."

In terms of the PPF's investment strategy, Heslop said the fund had returned 13.4% in comparison to the UK scheme average of -18%.  However, he admitted the deficit had increased from £500m to about £1.2bn over the year to the end of March.

"It is a long-term business for us but there is nothing to say we are not resilient," Heslop said.

Heslop said swaps had performed a large part of the investment strategy and had yielded £318m, which amounted to about half the levy collected which stood at £646m.

"Swaps did appear to work for us last year," he said.

Heslop also said the PPF was looking at what the levy should look like in 2012/13 and said it is possible it would have two risk components - unexpected and expected.

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