The civil service pension fund ABP will not have to cut pensions this year after all, despite warning six months ago that a cut may be inevitable.

The rise in interest rates and better returns on its investments have enabled to fund to boost its coverage ratio above the key level and so avoid reducing payouts, the fund said in a statement on Tuesday. More details will be published on January 27.

‘We must remain cautious,’ said chairman Corien Wortmann-Kool. ‘ABP may be unable to increase pensions in the coming year and we cannot rule out cuts… but we will continue to work towards improving our financial situation.’

ABP is one of the biggest pension funds in the world. It covers all public workers, from local authority civil servants to the police, and has 2.8 million members.