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UK Schemes Show Deficit for First Time in a Year
BBC News reports that in November the 7,800 defined benefit schemes in the UK were together £5 billion in the red – their first collective deficit since November last year.
In October, the PPF’s “7800 index” showed a collective surplus of £53 billion, but the impact of changes in the share and bond markets during November was to push the 6,014 schemes in deficit further into the red, from £48 billion to £73 billion, the news report said. The combined surplus of the 1,736 funds which were in the black shrank from £101 billion to £68 billion.
However, the overall position of pension funds is still better than a year ago when the total deficit was £30 billion.
UK pension scheme finances have generally been on an upward trend since 2002, when the deficit stood at more than £150 billion, according to BBC News.