Barnett Waddingham’s DB End Gauge is calculated using publicly available data collected from the annual accounts of the FTSE 350 companies. As such, it covers around 150 companies with DB pension arrangements and is calculated as the average of the estimated time to reach buyout funding for each scheme.
Average time to buyout for FTSE350 DB pension schemes has fallen below 4 years, Barnett Waddingham DB End Gauge reveals
• As of 31 May 2025, Barnett Waddingham’s DB End Gauge index was 3.6 years to buyout.
• The index fell over the last month from 30 April 2025 to 31 May 2025 from 4 years to 3.6 years.
Barnett Waddingham (BW), the leading UK professional services consultancy, has today shared its latest analysis of the DB End Gauge index showing that the average time to buyout for FTSE350 DB pension schemes has fallen to an all-time low of 3.6 years.
Lewys Curteis, Partner at consultancy Barnett Waddingham says: “BW’s DB End Gauge index fell as a result of an increase in average swap and bond yields which improved scheme funding levels. The fall in the index was slightly tempered by a more cautious outlook for future investment returns.
“The fall in the index illustrates the continued strength of DB pension scheme finances, and the proximity of most schemes to reaching full funding on a buyout basis, if they are not already there. Companies and trustees should be properly assessing the relative merits of running on versus an immediate buyout in terms of the economic value that could be generated for companies and members, particularly given the surplus extraction relaxations being proposed by Government.”
You can follow the index here.
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