The funding ratio of U.K. defined benefit funds covered by the Pension Protection Fund's 7800 index continued to climb in April, PPF reported on its website Tuesday.
The funding ratio improved to 114% from 111.4% in March, the then-highest level since June 2007, PPF reported.
Total assets were £1.68 trillion ($2.08 trillion) and total liabilities were £1.48 trillion at the end of April.
The PPF is the lifeboat fund for defined benefit plans of insolvent U.K. companies. It covers 5,215 pension funds, of which 1,757 are in deficit and 3,458 are in surplus.
The aggregate surplus of the pension funds in the PPF 7800 index increased in April to £206.2 billion from £176.4 billion at the end of March, PPF estimated.
For pension funds in deficit, the aggregate deficit was £47.8 billion, down from £62.9 billion at the end of March.
Lisa McCrory, PPF chief finance officer and chief actuary, said in the posted statement that the increase "is mainly due to the ongoing surge in bond yields primarily driven by central banks combating the rising inflation. It'll be interesting to see what impact the U.S. and U.K. rate moves will have on the 7800 index next month when coupled with ongoing COVID lockdowns in China and further heightened economic sanctions on Russia."
