Deficits

The BT Pension Scheme has seen its defined benefit deficit more than double to £5.7bn as discount rate falls pushed up liabilities, its final year results show.

The combined defined benefit deficit of FTSE350 firms has risen 50% during the first four months of this year, research from Mercer shows.

Companies are less likely to be wound up because of their pension deficit after the Supreme Court upheld a decision to set a high threshold for declaring a business insolvent.

The Pensions Regulator has urged trustees to be more flexible when agreeing deficit recovery plans in its annual funding statement.

UK corporate pension deficits rose 14% in April as an expected improvement in bond yields failed to materialise, says Xafinity.

Royal Dutch Shell has reported a $19.2bn (£12.3bn) impact on its balance sheet after implementing the revised IAS19 accounting standard for its pension scheme, its latest results show.

Home Retail Group has closed its defined benefit scheme to existing members after its latest triennial valuation revealed a £158m deficit.

Whitbread has increased the value of its asset-backed funding arrangement with its pension scheme to continue tackling its deficit, its latest results show.

Eastman Kodak is to hand over part of its business to the trustees of its UK scheme in a deal that will release the company from a $2.8bn (£1.8bn) claim to support the underfunded scheme.

Dairy Crest has used £60m worth of maturing cheese to back its pension liabilities after trustees raised concerns over the sponsor covenant following the £341m sale of spreads business St Hubert.