Member

Minimum statutory requirements must be workable for all defined benefit schemes and their sponsoring employers. A blanket requirement of this kind would increase liabilities across the board, and many schemes would simply not be in a position to absorb those additional costs. It is essential, therefore, that schemes and their trustees retain the flexibility to manage their funding positions responsibly. Where surpluses exist, schemes are already sharing value in ways that reflect their specific circumstances, including through surplus extraction. That flexibility should not be undermined by inflexible statutory change.