Pension Protection Fund (PPF) data has revealed that the deficit faced by around 7,400 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes has more than tripled in a year from £81.5bn in March 2008 to £243.1bn last month.
In March 2009, the total surpluses of schemes in surplus fell to £11.1bn from £13.3bn at the end of February 2009, while the total deficit of schemes in deficit in March 2009 is estimated to have worsened to £253.1bn from £218bn at the end of February 2009.
The news comes after it was confirmed that beleaguered building society Dunfermline, recently acquired by Nationwide, has applied for its pension scheme to enter into the PPF.
The PPF has confirmed that it is looking at information provided on the scheme to establish whether it will qualify to enter into the PPF assessment period.