Thomas Cook pension schemes expected to enter PPF

While a notification has not yet been submitted to the lifeboat fund, an assessment period is likely to begin in the coming days, during which the level of potential benefits will be assessed. According to the holiday company's latest annual accounts, the schemes had a combined £278m accounting surplus as at 31 December last year. Assets totalled £1.4bn, compared to liabilities of £1.1bn. However, the scheme has an estimated £100m surplus on a section 179 basis, meaning it is possible the schemes could wind up outside of the PPF, although benefits may still be lower than if the compan...