The defined benefit (DB) and hybrid landscape has continued to shrink at a yearly rate of 3 per cent on average, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has revealed, as schemes continue to close.

This continued decline has seen the total number of schemes fall from 7,300 in 2012 to 5,060 schemes today, marking a 31 per cent fall.

"Notably", TPR pointed out that the number of closed-to-new members (CTNM) schemes has decreased rapidly, falling by 66 per cent, alongside winding up (-68 per cent) and open schemes (-79 per cent).

In contrast, the closed to future accruals category is the only one to show a consistent increase, rising by 24 per cent.

This trend continued over the past year, as the latest update revealed that the proportion of DB schemes closed to future accrual, excluding those in wind-up, has risen from 73 per cent in 2024 to 74 per cent in 2025.

The report showed that membership in private DB and hybrid schemes has also fallen by 3 per cent since 2024 to 9,174,000, while schemes closed to future accruals are decreasing this year for the first time (from 5,656,000 in 2024 to 5,413,000 in 2025), a drop of 4 per cent.

Despite the shrinking market, TPR found that it still covers a substantial number of members, as this year’s report contains 200 public sector DB schemes with 19,784,000 members and 5,060 private sector schemes with 9,174,000 members.
 
Funding levels also remained strong, as TPR revealed that the technical provisions (TPs) funding level has stayed the same at 118 per cent, after assets and liabilities both fell by 10 per cent. 

In addition to this, the proportion of DB schemes in TPs' surplus rose to 82 per cent in 2025, compared to 80 per cent in 2024.

These funding improvements are expected to ensure a continued pipeline of demand for the bulk purchase annuity market, as Broadstone head of trustee services, Chris Rice, said that, with more than four in five schemes now in surplus, "it is little surprise that the bulk purchase annuity market has been so buoyant in recent years".
 
“With more than 9 million members still in over 5,000 private DB schemes, it is clear that the pensions risk transfer market is set to remain highly active for many years to come as trustees look to secure their members’ benefits," he said.
 
This was echoed by Standard Life managing director of BPA and individual retirement, Claire Altman, who pointed out that trustees are increasingly focused on securing benefits for deferred and pensioner members, while sponsors are focused on removing these liabilities from their balance sheets.

“Recent research from Standard Life underscores this urgency: nearly half of large DB trustees now view buy-in as their endgame strategy, and 40 per cent plan to approach an insurer within the next year, with certainty and member security cited as key drivers," she stated.

“‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ (seasonal thanks to Bob Dylan), and by moving now, trustees can lock in risk transfer and secure member benefits.”

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