Brexit to cost British businesses £10bn a year in pension deficits

BRITISH businesses need to stump up an extra £10billion a year over the next decade to cover the pension deficits built up in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.

The shortfall for defined benefit pensions schemes – which guarantees a retirement income linked to final salaries – jumped by £90billion last year to stand at £560billion.

A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said: ‘If companies tried to repair the deficits which arose during 2016 within ten years, this would cost an extra £10billion per year.’

It showed the referendum sparked an £80billion shortfall within only 24 hours, with the deficit rising from £510billion to £590billion between June 23 and June 24.

PwC’s Skyval Index showed that the deficit peaked at £710billion at the end of August, before staging a recovery in the final months of the year.