Member Focus 2021

The PPF is in a robust position to face the inevitable claims resulting from the pandemic. 

Although it has continued to be very difficult on an individual level for many of us, I’m pleased to report that the PPF remains strong, thanks to our investment performance coupled with our rigorous risk management. 

We now have £38 billion in invested assets, an increase of £1.9 billion from last year. We paid £1 billion in PPF benefits to members – the highest amount so far. You can read more in our annual report. 

We expect more schemes to need our help in the coming year, as some insolvencies due to the COVID-19 crisis will be inevitable. But we’re in a very strong position to manage these claims. We had an exceptional year of investment performance in 2020/21. We ended the year with reserves of £9 billion over and above what we need to pay all our current members for the rest of their lives, and their dependants. This means we have £9 billion to cover claims from pension schemes that need us in future. 

Our Member Services team has worked extremely hard to make sure our members have continued to experience outstanding service since the start of the pandemic, and to address their concerns. 

I’m delighted that we’ve retained our ServiceMark accreditation from the Institute of Customer Service. This important external recognition confirms we reach the high standards we aspire to, and that we have good processes in place on the rare occasions we fall short. A big thank you if you’re one of the 387 members who took part in the survey. 

If you haven’t yet registered for the PPF member website, I do hope you’ll give it a go. 

Keep well, 
Oliver Morley