Balance sheet Total funds at 31 March 2021 were £5.9 million (2020: £12.3 million), made up of unrestricted funds, restricted funds and the negative pension reserve. The restricted surplus for the year of £1.1 million (2020: £0.3 million surplus) reflects some funding recognised in the year as income, but that will only be spent in 2021/2022. This surplus means that restricted funds carried forward increased to £11.1 million (2020: £10.0 million). The net movement in our unrestricted funds for the year of £7.6 million deficit (2020: £1.6 million surplus) included £2.4 million surplus on core operations, meaning our unrestricted funds (excluding pension reserve) grew to £23.8 million (2020: £21.5 million). The remaining net movement in our unrestricted funds reflects the increase in negative pensions reserve from £19.1 million to £29.0 million. This negative pensions reserve reflects the net present value of the agreed annual payments to a closed defined benefit pension scheme. The reason for the substantial increase is the agreement to increase future contributions from £1.611 million to £2.111 million per year and to extend the repayment period from 31 December 2033 to 31 March 2037. We continue to benefit from a strong cash flow supported by our funders. The total cash balance at the year-end was £38.9 million (2020: £41.0 million). Remuneration policy We evaluate all new roles using our industry-standard job evaluation scheme, allocating roles to grades. To attract the right talent, our pay and grading scheme is structured on the basis of market median salaries. All national Citizens Advice employees earn in excess of the Living Wage and, for those who live in the capital, the London Living Wage. Executive team remuneration is the responsibility of the trustee board’s people committee, which sets pay levels on the basis of job evaluation outcomes and comprehensive benchmarking. A 1.5% annual salary increase was awarded to all staff, except for those earning less than £34,300 who received a 3% increase. 61 Financial review