Protecting the protector

The Pension Protection Fund is designed to step in when schemes default, but do the figures stack up?

During what has been billed as the worst economic downturn for a generation, the need for the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has never been greater. Yet with the collapse of several household names and fears of more major defaults to come, some experts are questioning the scheme's ability to cope. It is already grappling with a deficit of well over half a billion pounds, according to figures released in its annual report last October. This report only covers the financial year 2007/08. So it does not take into account the latest spate of high-profile collapses and almost a year's worth of ...