Young Anglican vicars are facing the prospect of a bleaker retirement after the Church of England's pension scheme succumbed to the "cult of equity" and sank 100 per cent of its investments into stocks towards the end of the 1990s bull market.

The Church of England's current pension scheme for the clergy is now considering sharply curtailing the rate at which they accrue benefits. For a young clergyman, aged 30, these benefits could turn out to be less than half of what recent retirees are receiving.