ITV’s total pension deficit has increased by £161 million since December 2011.
Its defined benefit (DB) pension schemes had an aggregate IAS 19 deficit of £390 million at 31 December 2011. This had risen to £551 million at 31 December 2012.
In its Preliminary results 2012, the media organisation attributed the deficit to the impact of a reduction in the discount rate used to value liabilities, although it was partially offset by a decrease in the market expectation of long-term inflation.
Full actuarial valuations of the three sections of the pension scheme were finalised in 2012. As a result of the valuations, ITV has agreed 10 to 15-year funding plans for all sections of the scheme.
In 2012, it paid £72 million in funding contributions to the scheme as a mixture of fixed and performance-related contributions.
In 2013, it plans to pay £79 million into the pension schemes.
