The aggregate surplus of DB pension schemes climbed to £265.6bn at the end of January, according to the latest Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 Index.
That’s up by £5.9bn from a surplus of £259.7bn at the end of December.
The funding ratio rose by 0.8 percentage points to 131% in January. The total scheme assets climbed 0.2% to £1,123.1bn while the total scheme liabilities fell 0.4% to £857.5bn.
The number of schemes in surplus rose to 3,847 representing around four in five (79.5%) of all schemes in the universe.
Shalin Bhagwan, PPF chief actuary, said: "The PPF-eligible DB universe's funding position strengthened slightly over the last month.
"The movements were driven in large part by a mixed bag of shifts in bond yields over the month - with yields on fixed interest indices moving up but, consistent with increases in inflation expectations, real yields falling, while equity markets saw positive returns."
Jaime Norman, senior actuarial director at consultancy Broadstone, said: “Pension schemes experienced a steady start to the year, building on the positive momentum generated through 2025. Pension schemes continue to be extremely well-funded with around four in every five schemes sitting on a surplus.
“Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, trustees are in a strong position to consider a widening range of end-game options. The de-risking sector looks set for another strong year with buoyant scheme demand while three significant insurer corporate transactions are set to complete this year.
“It will also be interesting to see whether superfunds can begin to grow their market share or how more schemes explore the option to run on with improved access to surpluses.”