The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) recorded investment returns of 5.2 per cent in the year to 31 March 2019, while assets under management grew from £30bn to £32bn.

Despite the strong returns, the lifeboat’s reserves fell from £6.7bn to £6.1bn, reducing the funding ratio by 4.2 per cent to 118.6 per cent, primarily due to the impact of onboarding Kodak Pension Plan No.2, its largest claim to date.

It means the PPF has £6.1bn over what it needs to pay its current 400,000 members, however it added that it was “not complacent” and the funding level of the schemes it protects remains high.

Commenting on the results, PPF chief executive, Oliver Morley, said: “The 10.4 million members of defined benefit pension schemes can be reassured of our protection. We now have around 400,000 members, and a further 150,000 members of schemes in PPF assessment.

“Our steady investment and funding approach over the coming years will help us to make sure we can provide a secure retirement for all our current and future members.”

The lifeboat said it was on course to reach its funding objective, with an “89 per cent probability of success”.

“Over the coming years we will continue to provide a valuable service for our members, to maximise value for our levy payers, and to play a worthwhile role in our community as well as the industry. We expect challenging times ahead, but we are confident our funding strategy is on course to see us through them,” Morley added.

Furthermore, the PPF said it achieved a 97 per cent member satisfaction score after launching a new website and insourcing its financial assistance scheme for member services.

In addition to its results, the PPF has written the latest of a series of insolvency guidance notes, providing information for insolvency practitioners to reduce rather than remove pension liabilities by setting up a new or successor scheme.

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