The average time to buyout for FTSE350 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes continued to fall to 4.4 years at the end of February 2025, analysis from Barnett Waddingham has revealed.

The DB End Gauge index showed that bond and swap yields remained relatively stable, while funding positions improved due to a reduction in long-term inflation expectations, which helped offset the weak performance of growth assets over the month.

Barnett Waddingham principal, Lewys Curteis, noted that the index saw a slight decline over February.

Moving into March, he said geopolitical uncertainty continued to rise, with the imposition of substantial US trade tariffs weighing investor confidence.

He noted that financial markets have reacted to this uncertainty, with “significant” falls seen in global equity markets and global bond yields “pushing upwards”.

However, he suggested that the impact for individual pension schemes will depend on underlying investment strategies and the level of resilience built in to deal with market fluctuations.

“Trustees and companies should ensure the appropriate measures are in place to monitor the impact of financial market changes and, where necessary, review the level of risk being taken to ensure this is in line with risk appetites,” he added.

The DB End Gauge is calculated using publicly available data collected from the annual accounts of the FTSE 350 companies.

It covers around 150 companies with DB pension arrangements and is calculated as the average of the estimated time to reach buyout for each scheme.

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