Barking and Dagenham's Pension Fund has demonstrated strong financial health, outperforming its investment return assumptions, according to a recent meeting of the Pensions Committee on Wednesday, 17 December 2025. The fund's valuation at 30 September 2025, reached £1,693.8m, an increase of £93m from its value at 30 June 2025.
The Public Reports Pack for the meeting revealed that the 2022 valuation assumed an investment return of 4.3% per annum, but the fund exceeded this, returning 4.8% per annum across the period. This positive performance contributes to an increase in the funding level from 101% to 108% and a reduction in the Primary Rate from 21.5% to 18.1%.
The reduction in the Primary Rate, from 21.5% to 18.1%, could indicate a potential decrease in contribution rates for employers. While the exact implications for employers and employees aren't explicitly stated in the meeting documents, a lower primary rate generally suggests a reduced contribution rate for employers.
The fund's success is also reflected in its quarterly performance. The Pension Fund Quarterly Monitoring Report Q2 for the period 1 July to 30 September 2025 (Q2) showed that the Fund returned +5.52%, outperforming its benchmark return of 5.27% by 0.26%.
Nick Vickers, Interim Head of Pensions, Treasury and Capital, noted in the Pension Fund Quarterly Monitoring Report Q2 that the Fund valuation at 30 September 2025 was £1,693.8m, an increase of £93m on its value at 30 June 2025. The report also specified that the £22m cash held by the council as of 30 September represents transactional cash holdings, and is not intended for other purposes.
