The combined pension deficit of UK companies climbed by £12bn last year, according to research released today.
Research by Barnett Waddingham has found the aggregate pension deficit of FTSE 350 firms is now £62bn, which amounts to 70 per cent of pre-tax profits for the year (£88.9bn).
The firm said deficit levels were now higher than they were immediately after the financial crisis.
The pension deficits of UK companies have been rising since 2011, when the total deficit stood at £54.5bn, and represented 25.4 per cent of total profits.
However, Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London, said that in the context of deficit movements, £12bn represented a “fairly modest change”, and said firms should “not panic”.