Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes attached to FTSE 350 companies saw their time to buy-out slip below five years for the first time since according to a gauge by consultant Barnett Waddingham.
According to the Barnett Waddingham End Gauge, the average time to buyout for firms on the UK index stood at 4.7 years in Q1 2023.
The index did highlight a slight blip in January when time to buy-out stretched to 5.5 years on a fall in bond yields but overall the trajectory has been downwards in the first quarter of 2023.
The news carries on the positive momentum for the sector which also reported a much improved funding position in the final three months of 2022.
According to a release by the actuarial consultants there has been such an improvement in UK DB pension scheme funding many plans were now in excess of their stated funding targets despite ongoing financial market volatility.