Survey: Accounting for pension costs by FTSE 100 companies

Deficit levels increased during 2016, according to Barnett Waddingham's annual survey of FTSE 100 pension disclosures.

Key findings:

Despite significant contributions by scheme sponsors, the overall deficit rose by more than £10 billion to almost £25 billion.
There were marked changes in asset allocation. The average allocation to growth assets, equity and property, has steadily decreased from 46% in 2009 to 29% in 2016.
Bonds and fixed income assets have increased from 41% in 2009 to around 54% in 2016.
The average RPI inflation assumption adopted by the companies in the survey was an increase of 0.2%.