The broadcaster’s £13.8bn defined benefit scheme registered a £103m surplus at the end of March this year.
In the scheme’s latest annual report, for the 12 months to the end of March 2024, trustee chair Catherine Claydon said the trustees and the BBC had agreed to bring forward the actuarial valuation by a year “following careful deliberations”.
The BBC Pension Scheme’s funding level improved from 96% to 101% between its 2022 valuation and the end of March 2023, swinging from a deficit of £841m to a surplus of £103m.
Assets fell slightly from £14.7bn to £13.8bn during the year, but liabilities dropped by more.
On top of the funding improvement, the trustees and the BBC have also agreed to update the contribution schedule and recovery plan. A lump sum of just under £42m is to be paid into the scheme on 31 March 2025, rather than spread over monthly instalments, as previously planned.
On top of this, the BBC will pay £50m a year into the scheme over the next two financial years to 31 March 2026. After that, a further £138m is to be paid into an escrow account over the following three years.
Additional contingent contributions are scheduled to be paid into escrow beginning in the 2025-26 financial year, with £558m set to be paid in over four years to 31 March 2029.
Investment results
The BBC scheme recorded a net investment loss of 3.4% for the 2023-24 financial year, but this was ahead of its benchmark, which was down 7.1%.
This follows a heavy 24.2% investment loss in 2022-23, and a 6.2% gain the previous year.
Over five years, the scheme has lost 2.4% a year on average, but this is still ahead of its benchmark, which is an index closely aligned with the scheme’s liabilities.
During the year, new allocations were made to green infrastructure. The annual report stated: “Seeking to capture the opportunities arising from the transition to a low-carbon economy, the Scheme has made investments in wind and solar farms, renewable heating and low-carbon greenhouses, electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.”
The BBC scheme incurred lower admin fees in 2023-24 than the previous year, helped by a lower Pension Protection Fund levy. Investment fees also fell from £20.1m to £18.3m.
Cybersecurity update
The trustees also updated members on the cybersecurity breach, first reported in May, that affected the records of more than 25,000 people.
The breach did not contain contact details, financial information or login data for digital services, the trustees said.
“It is also important to note that analysis undertaken by specialist teams currently shows no evidence that the affected files have been misused,” they added. “The data files involved were copies and there was therefore no impact to the operations of the scheme which continued as normal.”
Further reading
BBC burnt in attempt to save pension costs (7 August 2024)
Trustees ‘must be wary of cyber risks’ after BBC breach (6 June 2024)
