Skip to main content

Defined benefit pension schemes

Inquiry

Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes promise to pay pension benefits based on salary and length of service. There are over 5,100 UK private sector DB schemes, with around £1.4 trillion in assets.

DB schemes are in decline in the private sector. The number of private sector employees still accruing new DB benefits reduced from 3.5 million in 2006 to just under 0.9 million in 2022. However, they remain of critical importance, with 9.6 million members relying on them for a substantial portion of their expected retirement income. In our Saving for Later Life inquiry, we found that people with access to a DB pension were more likely to be on track for an adequate income in retirement. The improvement in aggregate scheme funding levels over the last year make this an important time to consider the future.

Read the call for evidence to learn more about the inquiry.