Private sector DB pensioners
FOI reference - FOI-433
Date - 20 November 2025
Request
I am emailing on behalf of the Continuous Mortality Investigation to request some data underlying the Occupational DB landscape in the UK 2024 report.
We are hoping to estimate the market coverage of the CMI SAPS investigation. We collect mortality experience data for DB pension schemes that have more than 500 pensioners but, unfortunately, the 2024 report does not split the data for schemes with 500+ pensioners. In previous year’s, you have kindly provided some information that allows us to do this, and I am hoping you can provide an updated version of the same information please.
Is it possible to see the following information please?
| Number of pensioners in the scheme | Number of schemes | Number of pensioners |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 500 | ||
| 500 – 1,000 | ||
| 1,000 – 4,999 | ||
| 5,000 – 9,999 | ||
| 10,000+ |
As per previous years, could we please have this information as at 1 April 2024 (assuming this is readily to hand)? From Table 2.4 of the Occupational DB landscape in the UK 2024 report, we are expecting the total number of pensioners to be 4,326,000.
Could I please also check whether you have this information as at 1 April 2025 and, if so, to please share this too?
Response
I confirm that we hold the information you have requested.
Table 1: Mortality experience data for DB pension schemes 2024
| Pensioner Bandings | Number of Schemes | Number of Pensioners |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 500 | 4,220 | 415,000 |
| 500 to 999 | 370 | 258,000 |
| 1,000 to 4,999 | 440 | 977,000 |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | 90 | 607,000 |
| 10,000+ | 80 | 2,069,000 |
| Total | 5,190 | 4,325,000 |
Table 2: Mortality experience data for DB pension schemes 2025
| Pensioner Bandings | Number of Schemes | Number of Pensioners |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 500 | 4,110 | 411,000 |
| 500 to 999 | 360 | 256,000 |
| 1,000 to 4,999 | 440 | 994,000 |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | 80 | 588,000 |
| 10,000+ | 80 | 2,061,000 |
| Total | 5,060 | 4,308,000 |
I hope that this response has provided you with the information you were seeking. If you have any further questions or require clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for your interest in our organisation.