defined benefit

Members of the Royal Mail Pension Fund could see their benefits slashed by 50% if plans to privatise part of the company are not pursued, the trustees warn.

Employers are being warned not to cut contributions to their final salary pension schemes if they are still able to pay dividends to shareholders.

The aggregate deficit of 7,800 defined benefit schemes monitored by the Pension Protection Fund increased by £58.5bn in December.

Pension contributions for small business workers have barely changed in more than ten years, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA).

The Pension Protection Fund has rejected claims it will be forced to cut member benefits as a result of the recession.

Defined benefit pension scheme deficits have more than doubled over the past year, with a shortfall of £155bn in November, according to figures from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

The Government's decision to cut VAT and then raise it again could add around £3bn to defined benefit pension liabilities, Watson Wyatt warns.

The Pension Corporation says it plans to raise up to £400m from investors to fund acquisitions, with a long-term aim of servicing around £20bn worth of defined benefit (DB) pensions.

The proportion of Defined Benefit (DB) schemes open to new entrants is expected to fall from 25% to 18% by 2010 and 14% in the next 5-10 years, according to Watson Wyatt's Pension Plan Design Survey 2008.

Pension Insurance Corporation has launched a new insurance product to protect defined benefit pension funds and their sponsors against the cost of pensioners living longer than expected.