The collective deficit of private sector final-salary pension schemes hit a new record of £222bn in November.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which compiled the figures, said the deficit had risen by £64bn from the end of September.

It said that although the value of scheme assets had risen, this had been outstripped by the sharply rising cost of paying for pensions.

A year ago the collective deficit stood at just £1bn.  “Over the month, scheme assets rose by 0.7% and over the year there was an increase of 5.9%,” said the PPF.

“Total scheme liabilities [the value of the assets required to pay pensions in the future] were £1229.2bn at the end of November 2011, an increase of 6.1% over the month and an increase of 29.1% over the year,” the PPF explained.

Source : BBC News