A scheme’s s179 liabilities represent, broadly speaking, the premium that would have to be paid to an insurance company to take on the payment of PPF levels of compensation. This compensation may be lower than full scheme benefits.
Highlights
Aaron Pang, PPF Acting Chief Actuary, said: "While equity markets performed positively during July, gilt yields matched global markets in rising through the month as a resumption of hostilities in the Middle East increased concerns about an inflation shock. Falling bond prices, which drove gilt yields higher, led to a reduction in both asset and liability values across the PPF eligible universe, reflecting DB schemes' significant allocation to bonds.
Overall, across the eligible universe, funding levels improved as the 3.1% fall in liability values was greater than the 1.7% drop in assets. This resulted in a stronger aggregate surplus of £271.3bn and a funding ratio of 133% - the highest recorded since July 2023."
A note on changes to the PPF 7800 Index
In our December 2025 update, we highlighted that the government had announced that it would legislate to allow us to pay prospective indexation starting from 2027 for service accrued pre-1997 for members of schemes who provided this as a right. As well as schemes that have already transferred to the PPF, this will also impact the s179 liabilities of schemes in the PPF universe. In April the Pension Schemes Act received Royal Assent. As we’ve signposted, we’ll reflect the impact from these changes in the PPF 7800 Index in due course.
View the August update and see the supporting data on the 7800 Index for 31 July 2026 here: The PPF 7800 index | Pension Protection Fund.
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