UK pension deficit hits record high

[LONDON] The shortfall in Britain's private sector pension plans rose to a record £367.5 billion (US$559.59 billion) at the end of January from £266.3 billion in December, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) said on Tuesday.

The total assets under management of 6,057 schemes tracked by the PPF index were £1,274 billion, while liabilities stood at £1,641 billion. The funding ratio fell to 77.6 per cent and 5,175 schemes were in deficit, the watchdog said.

Pension funds are struggling to finance their schemes due to record-low bond yields across much of the developed world.

The PPF was created in 2005 to take over the assets and liabilities of UK-based defined benefit pension schemes if an employer goes bust.

REUTERS