Deficits

Sainsbury's has announced it is consulting staff members on closing the company's defined benefit scheme to future accrual.

Debenhams has cut its defined benefit deficit by more than a half in the last six months as it shifts its investment focus, its half year results show.

Tesco has seen its defined benefit deficit increase by more than £500m despite a bump in contributions after its triennial review, its final results show.

WH Smith has agreed a £13m a year recovery plan to plug the deficit of its closed defined benefit scheme over the next seven years.

The on-going volatility in defined benefit scheme funding continues as £11bn was added to FTSE350 deficits over March, research from Mercer shows.

An increase in liabilities across UK defined benefit schemes in March wiped out improvements in funding levels reported over the last quarter, according to research from JLT Pension Capital Strategies.

The amount employers are paying into schemes hit record levels last year as defined benefit deficits continued to warrant cash injections, research from Towers Watson shows.

Liability assumptions have wiped out higher than expected asset returns and a de-risking exercise for the Johnston Press Pension Plan, its final year accounts show.

Supermarket giant Morrisons has seen its two defined benefit schemes swing from surplus into deficit after lower returns on assets, its final results show.

Newspaper group Trinity Mirror has almost quadrupled the amount of de-risking insurance contracts it holds as discount rate falls increased its deficit, its final year results show.