Leading U.K. companies' median pension plan funding level fell to 74% of total assets at the end of last year, compared with 91% a year earlier, according to research released today by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. This number is calculated according to the new FRS 17 accounting measure and based on annual reports of companies for the year ended December 2002.
Only a small number of companies in the FTSE 350 are struggling with large pension deficits, said Tim Keogh, European partner at Mercer. Also, four of 10 companies have their final-salary arrangements open to new members, and more companies have launched defined contribution plans within the last year; only a quarter of the United Kingdom's largest companies do not offer staff a money purchase plan, compared with 45% this time last year.
