Member Focus 2019

If you’re a PPF member you should receive your copy of Member Focus 2019 by email shortly, or in the post within the next couple of weeks.

We had another strong year in 2018/19 and now have £32 billion in our fund to pay all our members. Despite significant market volatility, I’m pleased to tell you that our investment return over the year was 5.2 per cent. You can find out more about our achievements in 2018/19 in our annual report.

We have a reserve of £6.1 billion over and above what we need to pay all our current members and dependants for the rest of their lives. This means we have £6.1 billion to cover claims from pension schemes that need us in future. 

We're in good financial shape, well positioned for the future. We expect challenging times ahead and continued political and market volatility over the coming few months, but our rigorous approach to managing risks means we are well prepared to withstand future events. You can be assured that we are on track to continue paying your benefits for as long as we are needed. 

Our successful investment performance was due to our hedging programme and our investments in a diverse range of assets. The largest contributors to the fund included infrastructure, real estate and public equity. Our approach is to set a risk appetite and seek the highest possible returns within those limits. We believe that being a responsible asset owner is essential to safeguard and enhance the value of our assets. 

There are now around 250,000 PPF members, and a further 150,000 members of schemes in assessment. Our steady investment and funding approach over the coming years will help us to provide a secure retirement for all our existing and future members. You can find out more about our achievements in 2018/19 in the infographic below.  

Looking ahead, we will continue to offer an important service for our members, to provide good value for the pension schemes that pay our levy, and to play a worthwhile role in our community as well as the pensions industry. 

Our work was recognised in a number of ways in 2018/19 – we were very proud to win awards for our investment strategy, training and customer services, among others. Read more about our award winning teams.

We put our members at the heart of every decision we make and we aim to provide brilliant service. This means we’ll keep developing innovative services for you and making it even easier to communicate with us.

You can read about our services and communication channels in our latest edition of Member Focus. If you haven’t yet registered for the member website, you’ll need your unique PPF reference number, which you'll find on the newsletter or email.

I hope you enjoy reading Member Focus.

Oliver Morley 
Chief Executive