The funding ratio of U.K. defined benefit funds covered by the Pension Protection Fund's 7800 index hit its highest level since June 2007, PPF reported on its website Tuesday.
After a slight monthly decrease in February to 108.4%, the funding ratio at the end of March rose to 114.1%.
Total assets were £1.72 trillion ($2.25 trillion) and total liabilities were £1.55 trillion, compared with £1.73 trillion and £1.6 trillion at the end of February, respectively. Assets experienced a decrease of 0.6% while liabilities decreased 3.3% since February and 7.7% over the year.
The PPF is the lifeboat fund for defined benefit plans of insolvent U.K. companies. It covers 5,215 pension funds, of which 1,908 are in deficit and 3,307 are in surplus.
The percentage of funds in deficit dropped to 36.6%, compared with 41.6% at the end of February and 49.4% at the end of March 2021.
For pension funds in deficit, the aggregate deficit was £62.9 billion, down from £83.1 billion at the end of February.
The 3,307 pension funds in surplus represent 63.4% of all funds, up from 58.4% in February and 50.6% in March 2021.
The aggregate surplus was £176.4 billion, compared to £133.6 billion the previous month.
