Spotlight on risk

The UK Pension Protection Fund plans to exact risk-based levies from British pension schemes from April next year. Its finance and investment director, Partha Dasgupta, is one of the driving forces pressing for a more risk-based culture at the fund. By Alexander Campbell

When the UK government set up the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) in April this year to act as a safety net for pension schemes that become insolvent, it was lambasted for exacting a flat-rate levy from corporate sponsors. The critics argued a flat-rate approach offered no incentive for prudent management and could result in well-managed funds subsidising badly managed ones, as the scheme required all funds to pay a similar levy but only plans linked to less well-managed companies were ever likely