The DWP has published a consultation paper with proposals to:
- make it easier to extract surplus from schemes and
- promote investment of scheme assets in productive finance.
The consultation also proposes the introduction of a public consolidator vehicle, by 2026, which would be operated by the PPF. The aim of this would be to provide a solution for schemes that are not attractive to commercial providers.
The main conditions around the proposals for access to scheme surplus are that:
- surplus may be extracted only if risk to members’ benefits is minimised,
- trustees would retain responsibility for managing scheme funding levels and
- extracting surplus will not be conditional on the funds being used for any particular purpose.