PPF 7800 deficit rises in February on the back of weaker yields

Over the month liabilities for the 5,794 schemes in the lifeboat fund's index increased by 5.4% to £1.8trn, which outpaced the growth of assets which rose by 3% to £1.5trn.

It comes after DB schemes had an slight reprieve in January when the total deficit fell by £27.4bn, almost eliminating the growth seen in December.

The fall was mostly driven by falls in gilt yields, with conventional 15-year yields falling by 28 basis points (bps) over the month, while index-linked 15-year yields fell by 7 bps. Meanwhile, the FTSE All-Share Index rose by 2.5%.  

The aggregate funding ratio fell to 86.2% by the end of February from 88.2% at the end of January.

In this month's results there were 4,380 schemes in deficit and 1,414 schemes in surplus.

BlackRock head of UK strategic clients Andy Tunningley said: "Spring may be in the air, but February provided no bounce in the step of UK pension schemes.  The PPF aggregate funding level fell, from 88.2% last month to 86.2% now. 10-year nominal gilt yields plunged 30bps lower in February, returning to levels not seen since October last year.  

"Meanwhile, UK real yields were fairly flat, having never reached escape velocity from their post-Brexit lows. The reversal of nominal yields may be a wake-up call to some pension schemes that are counting on rising yields to alleviate their funding woes.  

"Last week's Spring Budget showed, as was widely anticipated, that the government's borrowing requirements will be reduced relative to last year.  

"For index-linked gilts, this likely means less supply next year than was previously assumed - which suggests that the supply/demand pressures affecting long-dated linkers, driving by huge pension fund demand for hedging assets, could intensify."   

 

 

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• Topics
• Defined Benefit
• Pension Protection Fund
• BlackRock
• Andy Tunningley