Scheme funding
Under Part 3 of the Pension Act 2004 a full actuarial valuation of the Scheme to measure the assets (money held) and liabilities (money to be paid) is ordinarily required at least every three years with annual actuarial reports in the intervening years. However, these requirements have now fallen away now the Scheme has commenced winding up. Instead, the Trustee is required to obtain the Actuary's estimate of the solvency of the Scheme at the end of the scheme year in which winding up commenced, and annually thereafter until the winding up is complete. The first solvency report was prepared at 31 March 2023 as the Scheme commenced winding up in February 2023.
| 30 March 2024 | 30 March 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £million | £million | |
| Solvency liabilities | 739 | 693 |
| Market value of assets | 805 | 764 |
| Surplus/(Deficit) | 66 | 71 |
| Solvency level | 109% | 110% |
The last formal triennial actuarial valuation of the Scheme was carried out at 30 September 2019 and revealed the following:
| Technical Provisions Basis | Solvency Basis | |
|---|---|---|
| £million | £million | |
| Assets (money held) | 1,260.9 | 1,260.9 |
| Liabilities (money to be paid) | 1,119.0 | 1,229.4 |
| Shortfall/Surplus | 141.9 | 31.5 |
| Funding level | 113% | 103% |
The actuarial valuation is based on a set of economic and demographic assumptions set by the Trustee Board. It uses the technical provisions to determine whether Maersk (the Company) needs to pay any additional contributions to cover a shortfall. Technical provisions measure the extent of the liabilities needed to pay member pensions and are measured on a cautious basis.
Additional contributions to the Scheme
Given the Scheme’s strong funding position, confirmed by the formal actuarial valuation as at 30 September 2019, the Trustee and Company agreed that from 31 May 2021, when the Company closed the Scheme to the build up of future pension benefits, no further contributions would be paid.
The Pensions Regulator’s role
In certain circumstances, The Pensions Regulator has powers to intervene in a pension scheme’s funding plan and amend a pension scheme’s rules. The Pensions Regulator has not used any of these powers in relation to the Scheme.
Has the Company taken any money out of the Scheme?
Regulations require us to confirm that the Company has not taken any money out of the Scheme since we last sent you a valuation update. We are happy to confirm this.