The Pension Protection Fund has reported a 109.6% funding level and a £1.8bn surplus, asserting that it is on course to financial self-sufficiency.
According to its 2012/13 annual report and funding strategy update, published today, the PPF's probability of being self-sufficient by 2030 increased to 87%.
PPF chair Barbara Judge said: 'We remain firmly on our glide path to financial self-sufficiency in 2030. During 2012/13, we recorded another year of rapid growth, both in the numbers of members benefiting from our protection and the amount of assets we now have under management.'
Much of the PPF's performance was down to an 11.1% return on its invested assets. Including levy income and assets from transferring schemes, this grew from £11.1bn in 2011/12 to £14.9bn in 2012/13.
However, Judge added that the PPF continued to face considerable risks. 'As well as a record year for claims, we saw pension scheme funding worsen during 2012/13 and, although long bond yields have recovered a little since then, scheme funding remains at low levels,' she said.
The fund, established in 2005, exists to provide compensation to members of defined benefit pension schemes that have become insolvent. During 2012/13, almost 44,000 people were transferred to the PPF, taking the total number of transferees to just over 172,000.
Since 2005, the fund has paid out a total of £793m in pensionable service payments, of which more than £331m was paid out in 2012/13.
Commenting on the PPF's annual report, James Walsh of the National Association of Pension Funds, said: 'It is important for pension scheme members to know that the PPF's finances are sound and sustainable, so these latest figures make welcome news.
'Although the PPF is now more confident of hitting its long-term targets, the average levy paid by individual pension schemes is set to increase in the short term, and this remains a concern. The NAPF remains committed to working with the PPF on keeping the levy affordable.'
