Funding Standard

Tuesday 3 February 2009: Under the funding standard provisions of the Pensions Act, defined benefit schemes (excluding certain schemes, primarily in the public sector) are required to prepare and submit to the Board actuarial funding certificates, at three yearly intervals.

The purpose of the actuarial funding certificate, is to enable the scheme actuary to certify whether or not, if the scheme had wound up at the effective date of the certificate, its assets would have been sufficient to meet its liabilities. A certificate must be submitted to The Pensions Board no later than nine months after its effective date.

If the scheme could not have met its liabilities a funding proposal must be submitted to the Board.