Pension scheme funding (FOI)

​Request

The government of Jersey administers two public service pension funds:

• the Public Employees’ Pension Fund (PEFP)

• the Jersey Teachers Superannuation Fund (JTSF)

Are these funds fully funded? Put another way, will there be any need for a fund top up from the States in the next five years?

Response

The Scheme Actuary for the public service pension schemes undertakes an actuarial valuation of the Funds at least every three years. This provides an independent assessment of the funding level of the pension funds. The latest actuarial valuations were undertaken as at 31 December 2016 and are available at the following links:

PEPF Actuarial Valuation 2016

JTSF Actuarial Valuation 2016

The public service pension schemes in Jersey are not traditional balance of cost defined benefit schemes and there is no requirement for the Government of Jersey to increase its contribution into the pension schemes due to a past service funding deficit being declared at an actuarial valuation.

In 2015, the Public Employees Pension Fund (PEPF) was reformed with the aim of making it sustainable for the long term. The Final Salary Scheme was closed to new entrants at the end of 2015 and over 5,000 public servants are now accruing pensions based on career average earnings within the Career Average Scheme. Employee and employer contributions into the Fund are increasing over the next 3-5 years in line with the plan, agreed in 2015, to deliver a sustainable public service pension scheme for the long term.