Boost for pensioners as a soaring

PENSIONERS were celebrating yesterday as the escalating stock market saw pots soar.

Schemes attached to companies in the FTSE 100 enjoyed a combined £4billion boost after a record-breaking day.

The rising value of stocks and shares propelled UK pension funds into the black for the first time in a decade, analysts revealed.

Experts claim that strong investment growth and £13billion worth of injections from companies into their pension plans helped reverse the £31billion deficit reported on balance sheets the previous year.

The escalating value of stocks and shares means a major boost to people saving for their old age.

The growth concerns pension schemes attached to companies in the FTSE 100, an index of the 100 largest firms listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Since the 2016 EU Referendum, the FTSE 100 has hit a series of highs. This week alone it has smashed records twice – on Monday and again yesterday.

The exchange is up 13 per cent in the past two months alone – amounting to more than £200billion added to the value of Britain’s top 100 companies.

The analysis was provided by consultants Lane Clark and Peacock.

Malcolm McLean, a consultant with actuaries Barnett Waddingham, said: “This is good news for both employers and members of FTSE 100 pension schemes.

“Although we should never get carried away by movements either upwards or downwards in the stock market arising as a result of market or economic conditions, this is the first time for years that FTSE 100