Pensions Minister Torsten Bell, said: “Our aim is to strike the right balance between strong protection for members and appropriate flexibility for trustees."
Across all UK-listed companies, 240 profit warnings were issued last year, with 26% coming from firms with DB pension schemes.
Value leakage was a major concern raised in the report, with schemes looking to cut duplicated costs and keep outcomes stable for members and sponsors.
Men’s defined contribution (DC) pension pots were over three times larger at £90,000, compared to women’s £28,500.
Schemes held £1,215bn in assets (against £963bn in liabilities) marking only a slight month-on-month dip in funding levels.
Research revealed a wide gap in pension savings between generations, which could get worse if nothing is done.
Sarah Elwine, actuarial director at Broadstone, said: “July saw large gains in equity markets driving some global stock markets to all-time highs, increasing asset values and further solidifying the strong funding positions held by many defined benefit pension schemes."
According to the index, the funding level of the fully hedged scheme increased from 69.3% at the end of May to 70.3% at the end of June.
Employers are seeing reduced financial pressure from running Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes, with deficit reduction contributions in Q3 2024 totalling £932m — significantly lower than previous years.
Following the government's recently announced plans to allow companies to invest surpluses from DB schemes, Unite has warned them.
The government announces reforms to occupational defined benefit pension schemes, allowing £160bn in surplus funds to be reinvested in the economy or allocated to boost member benefits, as part of its growth agenda.
The guidance provides the market with greater certainty over how TPR expects trustees to assess their employer covenant.