Barnett Waddingham has submitted the first actuarial valuation under the new regulatory regime for DB schemes.
The consultantcy completed the assessment for The Pension and Life Assurance Plan of the Royal Society, submitted under the ‘bespoke’ route of The Pension’s Regulator’s new funding code.
TPR confirms this is the first completed assessment it has received since these new requirement came into effect for schemes with valuations from 22 September 2024.
Barnett Waddingham was also able to accelerate the timeline for the Plan’s 1 January 2025 valuation, which was finalised on 30 June 2025, well ahead of its April 2026 deadline. This has enabled The Royal Society to cease its deficit contributions to the plan, which is in surplus on its low dependency basis.
TPR’s new valuation submission portal which launched on 28 May 2025, has changed how schemes submit valuations. The new legislation and TPR’s code of practice have changed how DB schemes approach funding and investment strategies and how TPR assess valuations. Trustees must now agree long-term strategies targeting low dependency on sponsoring employers, documented in ‘statement of strategy’ documents.
Barnett Waddingham partner Helen Turner says: “The new legislative requirements have created additional complexity for well-funded schemes. We help trustees navigate these requirements with minimum disruption while ensuring full compliance.”
Alison Bostock, chair of the trustees at Zedra, adds: “Barnett Waddingham provided clear training and practical advice to help the trustees navigate their first valuation under the new funding code. They worked with us to agree an accelerated timetable to meet The Royal Society’s request for an early conclusion to the valuation.”
The Royal Society CFO Mary Daly adds: “We are grateful to the trustees and their advisers for their collaborative approach to enable the valuation to be concluded so quickly.”