Ben Doonigan
The former Railtrack - now Network Rail - has 2 pension funds - a defined benefit scheme for staff already in the Railway Pension Scheme (the pension accounting deficit rose to £617m at 30 September (£370m at 31 March 2008)) and a defined contribution scheme.
The 2008 Annual Report states:
"The Balance sheet liability, which represents the Company’s share (60 per cent) of the deficit of the Network Rail section of the Railway Pension Scheme (RPS), increased by nearly 50 per cent from £248m to £370m. The main driver for the increase in the accounting deficit has been an assumed increase in longevity in the consultation proposals for the actuarial funding valuation which reports the overall position of the scheme."
Members of the defined benefit scheme were contributing 10.8% in 2006!
