The market value of UK private-sector defined benefit and hybrid occupational pension schemes fell by £46 billion, or 4%, from £1.137 trillion to £1.091 trillion between 30 September 2025 and 31 March 2026, according to a six-monthly bulletin published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 1 October. The ONS attributes the decline mainly to lower asset values and, to a lesser extent, an increase in liabilities other than pension benefits. Its market-value measure covers scheme assets, the net value of derivative contracts and non-pension liabilities. It does not include liabilities arising from members’ future pension entitlements, so it cannot on its own show whether a scheme is adequately funded or in surplus or deficit.

The decline was not shared by every scheme category. The combined market value of private-sector defined contribution schemes and public-sector defined benefit and hybrid schemes rose by £50 billion, or 5%, over the same period, from £1.001 trillion to £1.051 trillion. The ONS identifies higher direct investment values for both groups as the main reason; an increase in pooled investment vehicles held by public-sector schemes also contributed. Direct investments held by public-sector defined benefit and hybrid schemes rose £25 billion, or 10%, while those held by private-sector defined contribution schemes increased £17 billion, or 21%. The different directions show why a single headline for “UK pension assets” can conceal contrasting movements by scheme type.

Within private-sector defined benefit and hybrid schemes, total asset value fell £39 billion, or 3%, in the six months. The largest component decline was in pooled investment vehicles, down £24 billion, or 6%. The ONS links that fall to market-value movements in mixed-asset and equity funds, including unrealised losses, as well as other changes such as income arrears; it says the fall was seen across schemes of different sizes. Direct asset values declined by £3 billion. Over the period, the UK 10-year government bond yield rose from 4.15% to 4.37%. Bond yields and prices move inversely, and the ONS says the increase may have contributed to lower pooled-vehicle values; it does not establish it as the sole cause. Private-sector schemes’ pooled-vehicle values remain below levels seen before the Bank Rate began rising from its record low in 2022.

Insurance policies were another notable balance-sheet item. Assets in these policies held by defined benefit and hybrid schemes had risen from £119 billion on 30 September 2023 to a peak of £190 billion on 30 September 2025. By March 2026 they had fallen £12 billion, or 6%, to £178 billion. In the ONS definition, this item includes annuity and deferred-annuity contracts linked to buy-ins and longevity swaps; the bulletin’s chart note also refers to insurance related to death benefits. The policies are recorded as scheme assets and can cover some pension liabilities. In a buy-in, members remain in the scheme while trustees hold the policy and retain responsibility for pension payments. In a buy-out, relevant member entitlements and assets can transfer to an insurer. The ONS says policy values can be volatile because transactions may be infrequent and an asset may leave the pensions sector when a buy-out transfers it to an insurer. It says comparatively low deficit-reduction contributions together with previously rising policy assets may indicate stronger funding positions, but the bulletin does not publish funding levels, so this is not a funding calculation or conclusion.

Payments to members of defined contribution schemes show a longer-term increase. Total quarterly benefits paid by private-sector defined contribution schemes rose from £0.4 billion in the series’ opening quarter, Quarter 3 2019, to £1.2 billion in Quarter 1 2026. Most of the increase came from lump-sum benefits, particularly in recent quarters. Lump sums averaged £0.99 billion per quarter from Quarter 3 2024 to Quarter 1 2026, the highest period average in the ONS series. For comparison, the average was £0.59 billion from Quarter 4 2022 to Quarter 2 2024 and £0.43 billion from Quarter 1 2021 to Quarter 3 2022. Under a defined contribution arrangement, a member’s retirement pot depends on contributions, investment returns and charges, and the payment choice made at retirement. An increase in benefits paid should therefore not by itself be read as a change in future retirement income. Lump-sum benefits can also include death benefits.

The estimates come from the ONS Financial Survey of Pension Schemes (FSPS), a quarterly survey of scheme membership, income and expenditure, transactions, assets and liabilities. All occupational schemes for private-sector employees are in scope, while the public-sector side includes funded schemes such as the Local Government Pension Scheme but excludes unfunded arrangements for civil servants, teachers and NHS staff. Results are presented in three categories: public-sector employee defined benefit and hybrid schemes, private-sector defined benefit and hybrid schemes, and private-sector defined contribution schemes. The ONS notes that “public-sector employee schemes” technically refers to government-managed schemes.

The FSPS draws a stratified random sample from The Pensions Regulator’s register, based on benefit type and membership size, then weights responses to account for non-response. All funded public schemes, private defined benefit and hybrid schemes with more than 10,000 members, and private defined contribution schemes with more than 25,000 members are included in the sample; smaller schemes are represented through sampling. A new sample was used for Quarter 3 2025 data. The ONS says estimates in subsequent quarters may therefore be subject to greater revisions and that the sample will be used for at least six quarters. In the latest data run, response rates were 86.8% for Quarter 4 2025 and 84.8% for Quarter 1 2026. Late responses and new information about earlier periods can lead to revisions, although estimates through Quarter 1 2025 will not be revised further. The bulletin is now published every six months, and data are released around two quarters after their reference periods. The ONS classifies the series as accredited official statistics. Even so, sample-based estimates carry sampling variability, and the survey does not estimate the number of schemes because small-scheme sample sizes are volatile. The results describe market-valued pension assets and benefit-payment flows; they do not establish whether assets cover members’ total pension entitlements.