The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the US government-sponsored safety net for pensions, plans to step up its investments in risk assets such as equities as it seeks to plug a $14bn deficit.

The move, announced on the President's Day public holiday in the US yesterday, will mean the PBGC will double its allocation of equity investments to 45 per cent of its total assets, up from 15-25 per cent in its -current investment plan.