In just two weeks at the beginning of October, the defined pension deficits of Britain’s largest companies rose by 50% to £96bn, consultants Hymans Robertson revealed. 

On 30th September of this year, the collective defined benefit pension deficits for FTSE350 stood at £63bn but it jumped to £96bn by the 15th of October, due mainly to equity market falls and a drop in gilt yields. 

According to Jon Hatchett, head of corporate consulting at Hymans Robertson, companies had to continually look for ways to de-risk their pension schemes in light of market volatility. This, in turn, would reduce the possibility of paying more in the future. 

It noted that equity markets had a difficult September and early October with the FTSE100 index down from a high 6900 to around 6200 in the last few days, due to a decline in gilt yields, global economic slowdown, the Ebola outbreak and political instability. 

To read the full article, with comments from Hymans Robertson, click HERE.