The UK government &quotwants an excuse for not having a minimum funding requirement&quot, according to Peter Tompkins, head of the Institute of Actuaries' pensions board which has close access to ministers.

The Institute of Actuaries is more closely associated with the Department of Social Security (DSS) than the Treasury which is also connected with the minimum funding requirement (MFR). Analysts, fund managers and traders have been convinced for some while that the Treasury wants the MFR to be scrapped, as it contributes to a distortion in the gilts market, but have been unclear as to the position of the DSS.