Summary of the Annual Funding Update
Most years, including this year, the Statement is a summary of a report called an ‘annual funding update’. It tells us whether the assets of the DB section are expected to be enough to pay members’ benefits now and in the future, using certain assumptions.
The DB section has a ‘shortfall’ if the assets are less than the amount we expect to need to pay benefits, and a ‘surplus’ if it has more. The most recent funding update was on 31 March 2023. It reports that the DB section had a:
The funding level has stayed the same, even though the surplus has gone down. This is because of the way that we invest the Fund’s money.
We aim to protect the funding level by investing the Fund’s money in assets whose value will move in a similar way to the Fund’s liabilities (money we need to pay members’ benefits). Over the last year both the assets and liabilities have moved in the same way. So the Fund’s financial health remained strong.
You’ll find more detail about these figures in our latest Summary Funding Statement on the Reports tab of the Document Library.
If you’d like a paper copy, contact the Unilever Pensions Team.