Deficits shrink, but a new threat looms

UK pension scheme deficits have shrunk from an aggregate value of £66bn a year ago to about £31bn now.

This deficit is shared among about half of the 7,800 schemes measured by the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) 7,800 Index. The PPF’s Section 179 definition of surplus is stringent; it is the cost of paying an insurance company to take on the payment of PPF levels of compensation.