DWP publishes consultation on surplus extraction and public sector consolidator options for DB schemes

On February 23, 2024, the DWP published a consultation paper with proposals facilitating DB scheme surplus extraction and investment of scheme assets in the productive finance proposals outlined in the 2023 Mansion House speech. It also introduces the plan for a public consolidator vehicle operated by the PPF by 2026, which aims to be accessible to smaller, less well-funded schemes unable to secure an insurance buy-out.

The DWP’s core propositions with respect to scheme surplus are:

• Surplus should only be extracted where safe to do so from a member benefit perspective.
• In all cases, trustees would retain responsibility for managing scheme funding levels.
• Extracting surplus will not be conditional on use of funds for particular purposes.

The consultation also includes a short survey for DB schemes which seeks information on issues such as schemes’ size (in terms of assets, liabilities and membership), whether they would be likely to change investment strategy if surplus were more accessible and if they would anticipate extracting surplus if this were made easier.

The consultation closes on April 19, 2024.

On March 1, 2024, the PPF published its initial view on how the new public consolidator could be structured. The consolidator is to be aimed at schemes which are unattractive to commercial providers, while increasing levels of investment in high-growth UK assets. The PPF acknowledges that it had not set out a complete or definitive solution, but it hopes that sharing its early thinking will support effective debate helping the refinement of the proposals.