Pension schemes closures 'accelerated' by credit crunch

The credit crunch and the subsequent economic downturn in the UK have hastened the process of companies calling time on their pension schemes, it has been claimed.

Bob Scott, a partner at Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP), said that while he predicts half of the FTSE 100 will have closed their pension schemes to employees by 2012, the events of the last 12 months will have accelerated the process.

"There's evidence, daily, in the papers about companies reviewing their pension schemes and considering their options," he commented, adding: "We've seen a number of recent instances of people taking industrial action, people getting very upset about proposals to change pension schemes."

In a recently published report, LCP revealed that the pension schemes of FTSE 100 firms had a net deficit of £41 billion.

Open up a new income stream by becoming an independent investor with the Trader's University from Knowledge to Action.