Champion the pensioner underdog and demonise the shareholder. You know you are in downturn territory when anything that smacks of past excess is fair game. First under the spotlight were bankers’ bonuses. Next in line for a ritualised pillorying could be companies that pay dividends to shareholders instead of topping up pension schemes – that is if the UK Pensions Regulator has any say. On the face of it, prioritising pensioners hits the right buttons. In the pecking order of a bankruptcy, pension schemes, as unsecured creditors, rank ahead of shareholders. Dig deeper, though, and the regulator’s insistence that pension fund top-ups come before dividend payments may not achieve the desired outcome for beneficiaries.

The interests of pensioners and shareholders are as mutually exclusive on the surface as they are closely aligned beneath it. In parlous investment markets, pension fund managers need dividend income to meet pension fund liabilities. So companies that skimp on payouts could inadvertently be helping to sink under-funded schemes. Shareholders, meanwhile, will not be motivated to provide fresh capital to the flurry of companies making cash calls to keep people employed unless they catch a glimpse of the usual long-term perks: capital appreciation and dividends.