Pension lifeboat fund at £14.8bn

Britain’s retirement lifeboat strengthened its financial footing last year by growing the value of the money under its control.

The Pension Protection Fund, which takes on final salary schemes from companies that collapse, had surplus assets of £1.8bn over its liabilities at the end of March, compared to £1.07bn in 2012. The funding position was disclosed in its annual report, which valued the PPF’s total assets at £14.8bn.

Lady Judge, PPF’s chairman, said: “We remain firmly on our glide path to financial self-sufficiency in 2030. Our focus during the year was to manage our growth effectively, meeting the continuing challenge of turbulent markets and dealing with claims totalling more than £1bn.”