Pensions lifeboat deficit falls by £34bn

This represents a decrease of £33.9bn when compared to the previous month’s figures of £115.6bn.

The funding ratio rose from 93.1 per cent at end of March 2018 to 95.1 per cent.

Defined benefit schemes’ total assets were £1.58trn, while total liabilities were £1.66trn.

There were 3, 3,637 schemes in deficit and 1,951 schemes in surplus, the PPF said.

According to a PPF spokesman, the improvement in schemes’ funding position was largely caused by an increase in bond yields over the month which decreased scheme liability values by 1.3 per cent, as well as an overall increase of 0.7 per cent in asset values due to an increase in equity prices offset by a decrease in bond prices.

He added: "It is always important to remember that pension liabilities are long-term and the numbers should be looked at in this context.

"As ever, members of DB schemes can continue to rest assured they have the protection that the PPF offers in the event that their employer, or former employer, fails, and the scheme cannot afford to pay their promised pension."

Boris Mikhailov, investment strategist for global investment solutions at Aviva Investors, said pension scheme funding deficits fell in April in line with favourable market conditions, following a volatile start to the year for asset prices.

He said: "Fears of trade wars eased, whilst at the same time the demand from [liability-driven investment] LDI investors slowed down over the month.

"As a result the equity markets rallied and long-term gilt yields increased, causing assets to rise and liabilities to fall."

PPF numbers are in line with an overall deficit downward trend in the DB sector.

Earlier this month, PwC published its Skyval index, based on data from 5,800 DB schemes, which showed that UK’s final salary schemes’ shortfall stood at £200bn at the end of April, a decrease of £250bn when compared to November.

maria.espadinha@ft.com