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Pension consulting firm Watson Wyatt said that falling share markets and increased inflation were to blame for the pension woes hitting UK blue chip companies, reports Reuters.
According to the news provider, the aggregate strength of pension funds in FTSE 100 firms dropped from a surplus of £23 billion in May, to a deficit of £8 billion last month.
Rashpal Bhabra, head of corporate consulting at Watson Wyatt, commented: "Companies with defined benefit pensions have offered their staff protection against prices rising in future but have limited protection against this themselves."
The development will be unwelcome news for finance directors who are preparing to their interim reports.
Thompson Investment Management News reports that up to three-quarters of all pension schemes are now in the red.
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