Pension schemes go back to black

BRITAIN'S final salary pension schemes have made a dramatic swing to the black, according to new figures from the government's pensions "lifeboat".

The funding position of schemes provided by private sector firms has returned to surplus for the first time since June 2008, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) revealed.

It said the UK's 7,400 final salary schemes had a collective surplus of 300 million at the end of March, compared with a deficit of 242 billion a year ago, although 68.5 per cent of schemes remain in deficit.

The PPF attributed the improvement in the funding position to a rise in equity markets that had boosted scheme assets by 21.7 per cent over the last year.

Meanwhile, liabilities have fallen as a result of changes in bond yields, which are used to calculate the accounting value of scheme liabilities.