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
To help explain some of the technical terms used in this section, we’ve included a jargon buster.
The table shows the statutory funding position as at 31 December 2024 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.
Latest update
As at 30 June 2025, the funding level remained unchanged at 108%. The next valuation will take place as at 31 December 2026.
| 2024 Funding position 31 Dec 2024 |
2023 Valuation 31 Dec 2023 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Assets | £11,040m | £12,340m |
| Liabilities | £10,190m | £11,468m |
| Funding level | 108% | 108% |
Change in funding position since the last edition
The Fund’s Statutory Funding Objective aims for 100% funding. The table above shows that the Fund was 108% funded at 31 December 2024. Since the last valuation as at 31 December 2023, the Fund’s funding level has stayed about the same.
While the total value of the Fund’s assets has gone down, particularly the government bonds, the amount needed now to meet expected future payments (liabilities) has also gone down. This is because we are invested in liability matching assets.
Valuation as at 31 December 2023
Funding level - 108%
Estimate as at 31 December 2024
Funding level - 108%
Other things we need to tell you
By law, we must also give you an estimate of the Fund’s solvency level. We do this by calculating the liabilities if we had bought an insurance policy to cover their cost, then using this figure to work out its ratio against the value of the Fund’s assets.
The estimated solvency level as at 31 December 2023 (the most recent actuarial valuation) was 93%.
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 SCPF’s liabilities are calculated, or
- impose a schedule of contributions
We are happy to confirm that this has not been the case.
