SCPF funding position
Our priority as Trustee is to make sure that all members’ benefits are paid in full and on time throughout the life of the Fund.
To help us do this, every three years the Scheme Actuary carries out a statutory valuation. In the years between valuations, our advisers give us an update on the Fund, in the annual Actuarial Report.
The Actuary compares:
- The Fund’s assets – the value of the investments held
- The Fund’s liabilities – the estimated amount needed to pay all future benefits
If the assets are lower than the liabilities, the Trustee and the Company need to agree on how much the Company should contribute to make up the difference.
The chart shows the statutory funding position as at 31 December 2025 compared with the previous actuarial valuation as at 31 December 2023. At each date, the assets were greater than the liabilities. This means the Company didn’t need to make any extra contributions to the Fund.
To help explain some of the technical terms used in this section, we’ve included a jargon buster.
| Funding position 31 Dec 2025 | Valuation 31 Dec 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | £10,700m | £12,340m |
| Liabilities | £10,050m | £11,468m |
| Funding level | 106% | 108% |
Latest update
As at 30 June 2026, the funding level was 105%. The next full actuarial valuation will take place as at 31 December 2026.
Change in funding position since the last edition
The Fund’s Statutory Funding Objective aims for 100% funding. The summary shows that the Fund was 106% funded at 31 December 2025. Since the update as at 31 December 2024, in last year’s Source, the funding level has fallen by 2%.
This is primarily due to weaker asset performance over the period. Also, in absolute terms, both the Fund’s assets and liabilities have fallen slightly, so the amount needed now to meet expected future payments (liabilities) has also gone down. This is because we are invested in liability matching assets.
| Funding position as at 31 Dec 2024 | Funding level 108% |
| Funding position as at 31 Dec 2025 | Funding level 106% |
Other things we need to tell you
By law, we must also give you an estimate of the Fund’s solvency level. The Scheme Actuary does this by calculating the liabilities in line with the cost of buying an insurance policy to cover expected benefit payments. Then this figure is used to work out the ratio of the Fund’s assets relative to the liabilities.
The estimated solvency level as at 31 December 2023 (the most recent actuarial valuation) was 93%. Including this information doesn’t mean there are plans to wind up the Fund. It’s simply part of the information we have to share with you.
Pension regulations mean we need to confirm that the Company has not taken any money out of the SCPF this year. We are happy to confirm this. We must also tell you whether The Pensions Regulator has exercised its powers in relation to the SCPF, including the power to:
- change the rate at which pensions in the SCPF build up
- direct how the SCPFˇs liabilities are calculated, or
- impose a schedule of contributions
We are happy to confirm that this has not been the case.
