Story...
The PPF was set up in 2005 to provide a safety net for insolvent final-salary pension schemes in the private sector.
The PPF's chief executive, Partha Dasgupta, said it was a major achievement. "That 100 schemes have now transferred to the PPF demonstrates clearly that we are doing what we were set up to do: protecting people's pensions when their employers go bust," he said.
The fund pays 100% of accrued pensions to people who have reached their own scheme's pension age, but those who have not retired yet are guaranteed to receive only 90% of their pension entitlement.
The PPF is now responsible for paying more than 30,000 current or future pensioners, with another 290 schemes in the pipeline. The number of pension schemes applying to be rescued has accelerated in the past year because the recession has produced a sharp upturn in corporate insolvencies. The large number of insolvent schemes in the PPF's pipeline means that there are already another 178,904 people who may come under its umbrella.
There has been concern that the rising number of company insolvencies, especially of large companies such as Woolworths, could put too much strain on the PPF's own finances.