DB deficits fall to 14-month low

Aon Hewitt's top 200 companies had a collecting pension scheme deficit of £69bn at the end of October, compared to an £80bn deficit on 30 September 2009. The company says the improvement is due to buoyant equity markets and stable bond markets. In fact, Aon Hewitt claims if equity markets grow 20%, corporate bond yields jump to 6% from 5.15%, or inflation falls to 2.5% from 3.35% over the next year, these pension scheme deficits could be eliminated entirely. "This good news has been a long time coming for many UK businesses whose final salary schemes have struggled with volatile ma...