On the go: Surplus in the UK's defined benefit pension schemes evaporated over December, according to a funding measure used by the Pension Protection Fund.
The PPF 7800 index showed a deficit of £31.9bn at the end of 2018, a slight drop from November's £14.3bn surplus.
The index measures the funding of UK schemes on aggregate against the cost of securing PPF-level benefits with an insurer.
Total assets for the 5,450 schemes in the PPF universe were £1.57tn while liabilities were £1.6tn, a funding level of 98 per cent compared with 100.9 per cent in November.
The results mirror a worsening of funding across various measures. Consultancy Mercer calculated that the accounting deficit stated by listed companies also deteriorated over the year, after spending five months in surplus.
