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Covenant groups data request

FOI reference - FOI-157
Date 6 September 2023

Request

As at 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023, for each of the 4 covenant groups (Strong, Tending to Strong, Tending to Weak and Weak), please could you provide the following:

  1. Distribution by scheme size: Broken down by no. of members, assets, TPs, Buyout, Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TPs to Total TPs)
  2. Distribution by scheme size: Broken down by Funding Level (TP and Buyout)

Response

I can confirm that we hold information falling within scope of your request / the information you have requested.

Information we are able to supply

Please find the information we can supply in the data tables below.

I do need to make you aware of the following caveats and limitations which apply to the information we have provided:

  • The scheme population was derived from TPR’s Register of Pension Schemes as at 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023 and includes all private sector occupational Defined Benefit and Hybrid schemes subject to Part 3 funding requirements.
  • The data for memberships is the latest position from TPR’s Register of Pension Schemes as at 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023 for all private sector occupational Defined Benefit and Hybrid schemes subject to Part 3 funding requirements.
  • The data for funding level distributions on a Technical Provisions basis and Buyout basis have been estimated by the actuarial team at TPR by adjusting the position from a schemes latest triennial Part 3 valuation (some of which relate to scheme’s positions as far back as 2017) up to the 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023. These estimates allow for the following calculation methodology:
    • In estimating the technical provisions, we assume that trustees do not make any changes to the funding methodology due to changing market conditions. We assume financial assumptions were set with reference to gilt markets and adjust for changes in gilt markets only.
    • In estimating buyout liabilities, we make allowance for changes in gilt markets only and do not make any other adjustments to changes in insurance premia over time.
    • In estimating assets to 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023, we use relevant index returns based on the asset allocations submitted to TPR in the 31 March 2022 Scheme Return. (These asset allocations are as at the date of each Scheme’s latest audited accounts, rather than all being a consistent date).
    • Where asset data indicates that schemes have leveraged LDI (Liability Driven Investment), we have made broad adjustments to the asset values for any collateral calls that may have applied.
    • We rely on the accuracy of the third-party information that is provided to us. In some instances, the information is incomplete, and we take steps to estimate information via other means.
    • Given the data limitations our calculations use general actuarial methods and techniques including the use of index returns. Results are therefore approximate in nature compared to those that would apply if granular scheme specific member and asset data were available.
    • Whilst we do not expect a pronounced systemic bias in the model, results may be materially inaccurate at an individual level where different funding methodologies are adopted, and asset returns are materially different to index returns.
    •  This work has been completed in accordance with the Financial Reporting Council’s Technical Actuarial Standard, TAS 100.
  • The data covering Covenant Grades (CG) is drawn from a number of sources, the principal source being the dataset underpinning the regulator’s annual Scheme Funding Statistics Publication. In certain instances, we have supplemented this with more recent CG assessments, or assessments estimated using in house models.

Data tables

Table 1: Covenant group 1 (Strong) – 31 March 2022

Scheme size (Assets) Number of schemes Number of members (Thousands) Total assets (£billion) Total TP (£billion) Total buyout liabilities (£billion) Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TP to total TP)
25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile
< £10m 235 30 1 1 1 2% 34% 58%
£10m to £100m 437 109 16 17 22 33% 45% 59%
£100m to £500m 202 273 45 45 60 33% 44% 54%
£500m to £1bn 43 513 31 33 42 39% 45% 56%
£1bn to £5bn 54 493 104 108 136 37% 49% 58%
> £5bn 12 1,140 200 194 243 44% 51% 59%

Table 2: Covenant group 2 (Tending to strong) – 31 March 2022

Scheme size (Assets) Number of schemes Number of members (Thousands) Total assets (£billion) Total TP (£billion) Total buyout liabilities (£billion) Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TP to total TP)
25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile
< £10m 605 37 3 3 4 6% 36% 57%
£10m to £100m 990 259 38 40 52 33% 46% 57%
£100m to £500m 417 565 97 100 127 35% 44% 55%
£500m to £1bn 87 349 63 64 82 35% 45% 57%
£1bn to £5bn 132 1,501 303 312 391 40% 50% 57%
> £5bn 34 2,145 486 479 493 45% 52% 62%

Table 3: Covenant group 3 (Tending to weak) – 31 March 2022

Scheme size (Assets) Number of schemes Number of members (Thousands) Total assets (£billion) Total TP (£billion) Total buyout liabilities (£billion) Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TP to total TP)
25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile
< £10m 258 13 1 1 2 14% 36% 52%
£10m to £100m 427 111 16 18 24 34% 47% 58%
£100m to £500m 196 276 43 47 62 34% 44% 53%
£500m to £1bn 48 221 33 36 46 33% 44% 52%
£1bn to £5bn 40 411 78 80 102 33% 48% 55%
> £5bn 5 273 51 49 63 35% 36% 55%

Table 4: Covenant group 4 (Weak) - 31 March 2022

Scheme size (Assets) Number of schemes Number of members (Thousands) Total assets (£billion) Total TP (£billion) Total buyout liabilities (£billion) Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TP to total TP)
25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile
< £10m 389 345 2 2 3 13% 40% 58%
£10m to £100m 330 209 10 12 16 35% 45% 57%
£100m to £500m 129 129 28 32 42 31% 44% 54%
£500m to £1bn 25 16 17 18 23 37% 46% 51%
£1bn to £5bn 24 17 45 47 59 39% 49% 62%
> £5bn 3 0 20 21 27 31% 46% 62%

Table 5: Covenant group 1 (Strong) - 31 March 2022 / TP

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 0.3% 2.8% 3.8% 5.0% 12.0%
£10m to £100m 0.9% 3.6% 5.4% 11.7% 22.9%
£100m to £500m 0.2% 1.3% 2.1% 5.2% 11.7%
£500m to £1bn 0.1% 0.4% 0.8% 1.2% 1.8%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.5% 1.1% 1.6% 2.2%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.0% 1.0%

Table 6: Covenant group 1 (Strong) – 31 March 2022 / Buyout

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 9.4% 4.7% 4.2% 2.0% 3.7%
£10m to £100m 13.9% 10.4% 11.7% 5.5% 3.0%
£100m to £500m 5.0% 5.2% 6.2% 3.1% 1.1%
£500m to £1bn 1.0% 1.5% 0.7% 0.9% 0.2%
£1bn to £5bn 1.2% 1.9% 1.2% 0.9% 0.2%
> £5bn 0.1% 0.3% 0.4% 0.4% 0.0%

Table 7: Covenant group 2 (Tending to strong) – March 2022 / TP

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 2.4% 2.6% 4.5% 6.7% 10.5%
£10m to £100m 1.4% 3.7% 6.8% 11.4% 20.4%
£100m to £500m 0.2% 1.2% 2.7% 5.5% 8.8%
£500m to £1bn 0.0% 0.4% 0.4% 1.4% 1.7%
£1bn to £5bn 0.1% 0.4% 1.1% 2.0% 2.3%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.5% 0.7%

Table 8: Covenant group 2 (Tending to strong) – 31 March 2022 / Buyout

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 11.5% 6.1% 3.9% 3.0% 2.2%
£10m to £100m 15.1% 11.3% 9.5% 5.3% 2.4%
£100m to £500m 4.9% 4.9% 4.4% 3.2% 1.1%
£500m to £1bn 0.8% 1.0% 1.3% 0.4% 0.3%
£1bn to £5bn 1.3% 1.8% 1.3% 1.1% 0.4%
> £5bn 0.2% 0.6% 0.4% 0.1% 0.2%

Table 9: Covenant group 3 (Tending to weak) – 31 March 2022 / TP

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 4.1% 3.6% 4.6% 5.9% 8.3%
£10m to £100m 3.1% 6.2% 8.7% 11.7% 14.2%
£100m to £500m 0.8% 2.7% 4.5% 5.9% 6.3%
£500m to £1bn 0.0% 0.6% 0.8% 1.8% 1.6%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.4% 0.5% 1.0% 2.2%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.4%

Table 10: Covenant group 3 (Tending to weak) – 31 March 2022 / Buyout

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 15.2% 5.6% 3.4% 1.5% 0.7%
£10m to £100m 22.0% 9.4% 7.1% 3.5% 1.8%
£100m to £500m 9.3% 5.9% 3.3% 0.6% 1.0%
£500m to £1bn 1.8% 1.1% 0.9% 0.8% 0.2%
£1bn to £5bn 1.3% 0.8% 1.1% 0.8% 0.0%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.0% 0.1%

Table 11: Covenant group 4 (Weak) – 31 March 2022 / TP

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 9.7% 5.2% 6.3% 7.3% 14.7%
£10m to £100m 5.3% 5.0% 7.0% 8.3% 11.0%
£100m to £500m 1.1% 2.4% 2.9% 4.0% 3.9%
£500m to £1bn 0.1% 0.1% 0.7% 0.9% 1.0%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.3% 0.7% 0.9% 0.8%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%

Table 12: Covenant group 4 (Weak) – 31 March 2022 / Buyout

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 24.3% 5.4% 5.7% 3.6% 4.2%
£10m to £100m 19.4% 8.3% 4.2% 2.4% 2.2%
£100m to £500m 7.0% 3.3% 2.2% 1.2% 0.6%
£500m to £1bn 0.9% 0.8% 0.4% 0.6% 0.1%
£1bn to £5bn 0.8% 0.9% 0.9% 0.0% 0.1%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.2% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0%

Table 13: Covenant group 1 (Strong) – 31 March 2023

Scheme size (Assets) Number of schemes Number of members (Thousands) Total assets (£billion) Total TP (£billion) Total buyout liabilities (£billion) Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TP to total TP)
25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile
< £10m 248 37 1 1 1 4% 42% 65%
£10m to £100m 451 120 17 15 18 39% 51% 63%
£100m to £500m 180 291 41 36 44 42% 50% 61%
£500m to £1bn 38 510 28 26 30 46% 51% 63%
£1bn to £5bn 44 442 78 70 81 45% 57% 64%
> £5bn 11 1,133 167 137 164 50% 57% 66%

Table 14: Covenant group 2 (Tending to strong) – 31 March 2023

Scheme size (Assets) Number of schemes Number of members (Thousands) Total assets (£billion) Total TP (£billion) Total buyout liabilities (£billion) Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TP to total TP)
25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile
< £10m 640 36 3 3 3 12% 42% 62%
£10m to £100m 957 278 36 32 39 40% 52% 62%
£100m to £500m 372 568 82 74 89 41% 53% 62%
£500m to £1bn 85 427 61 54 65 42% 54% 62%
£1bn to £5bn 120 1,556 266 243 283 47% 58% 65%
> £5bn 24 1,898 358 292 355 49% 57% 64%

Table 15: Covenant group 3 (Tending to weak) – 31 March 2023

Scheme size (Assets) Number of schemes Number of members (Thousands) Total assets (£billion) Total TP (£billion) Total buyout liabilities (£billion) Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TP to total TP)
25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile
< £10m 281 18 1 1 1 21% 47% 61%
£10m to £100m 413 121 15 15 18 39% 52% 62%
£100m to £500m 180 284 40 38 47 39% 52% 58%
£500m to £1bn 39 228 27 25 31 40% 50% 53%
£1bn to £5bn 33 395 62 56 66 38% 54% 62%
> £5bn 4 214 37 31 36 41% 43% 48%

Table 16: Covenant group 4 (Weak) – 31 March 2023

Scheme size (Assets) Number of schemes Number of members (Thousands) Total assets (£billion) Total TP (£billion) Total buyout liabilities (£billion) Maturity (Ratio of pensioner TP to total TP)
25th percentile 50th percentile 75th percentile
< £10m 397 25 2 2 2 22% 46% 64%
£10m to £100m 313 83 10 10 12 40% 51% 63%
£100m to £500m 118 206 26 25 31 39% 50% 59%
£500m to £1bn 18 76 13 13 16 37% 56% 66%
£1bn to £5bn 17 224 34 32 36 53% 56% 65%
> £5bn 2 44 12 9 11 29% 38% 46%

Table 17: Covenant group 1 (Strong) – 31 March 2023 / TP

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 0.0% 0.1% 1.9% 1.6% 21.9%
£10m to £100m 0.0% 0.6% 2.8% 6.4% 36.6%
£100m to £500m 0.0% 0.0% 1.2% 1.9% 15.4%
£500m to £1bn 0.0% 0.2% 0.4% 1.2% 2.1%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.5% 0.9% 3.1%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% 1.0%

Table 18: Covenant group 1 (Strong) – 31 March 2023 / Buyout

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 2.0% 3.2% 3.8% 5.5% 11.1%
£10m to £100m 3.3% 5.9% 9.5% 10.1% 17.7%
£100m to £500m 0.8% 2.1% 2.9% 4.1% 8.6%
£500m to £1bn 0.2% 0.5% 1.0% 0.7% 1.4%
£1bn to £5bn 0.1% 0.5% 1.0% 1.1% 1.7%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.4% 0.5%

Table 19: Covenant group 2 (Tending to strong) – 31 March 2023 / TP

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 0.7% 0.6% 1.9% 3.1% 22.8%
£10m to £100m 0.2% 0.7% 3.3% 6.1% 33.2%
£100m to £500m 0.0% 0.4% 1.2% 3.0% 12.4%
£500m to £1bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.6% 3.0%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.5% 1.0% 4.0%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.9%

Table 20: Covenant group 2 (Tending to strong) – 31 March 2023 / Buyout

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 3.8% 4.5% 5.2% 5.1% 10.6%
£10m to £100m 3.3% 6.7% 9.1% 10.4% 14.1%
£100m to £500m 0.7% 2.2% 4.5% 3.9% 5.6%
£500m to £1bn 0.2% 0.4% 1.0% 0.9% 1.4%
£1bn to £5bn 0.2% 0.5% 1.6% 1.2% 2.0%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.3% 0.5%

Table 21: Covenant group 3 (Tending to weak) – 31 March 2023 / TP

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 1.2% 2.0% 2.9% 4.3% 19.2%
£10m to £100m 1.2% 2.2% 4.5% 7.9% 27.7%
£100m to £500m 0.3% 0.8% 1.8% 4.5% 11.5%
£500m to £1bn 0.1% 0.0% 0.4% 0.7% 2.8%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.4% 2.8%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.4%

Table 22: Covenant group 3 (Tending to weak) – 31 March 2023 / Buyout

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 7.3% 4.5% 5.6% 4.8% 7.4%
£10m to £100m 8.6% 8.1% 8.7% 8.3% 9.7%
£100m to £500m 2.3% 3.3% 5.9% 3.4% 4.1%
£500m to £1bn 0.5% 0.7% 0.8% 0.9% 1.1%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 1.5%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.1%

Table 23: Covenant group 4 (Weak) – 31 March 2023 / TP

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 3.8% 2.9% 3.7% 5.1% 30.4%
£10m to £100m 1.7% 2.1% 4.5% 5.2% 22.7%
£100m to £500m 0.5% 0.8% 1.3% 3.0% 8.1%
£500m to £1bn 0.0% 0.3% 0.3% 0.2% 1.2%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% 0.6% 1.0%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%

Table 24: Covenant group 4 (Weak) – 31 March 2023 / Buyout

Scheme size (Assets) Proportion of schemes with funding level (TPs) of:
< 70% 70% to 80% 80% to 90% 90% to 100% > 100%
< £10m 11.4% 7.5% 6.2% 6.0% 14.7%
£10m to £100m 8.2% 5.8% 7.7% 6.6% 7.9%
£100m to £500m 2.3% 2.8% 2.5% 2.4% 3.6%
£500m to £1bn 0.6% 0.5% 0.3% 0.2% 0.5%
£1bn to £5bn 0.0% 0.3% 0.2% 0.6% 0.8%
> £5bn 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2%