In reply to a now deleted post that asked "Who would pay off the deficit then?":
Whoever buys Mon potentially would, unless the Pension Regulator approves a Regulated Apportionment Agreement as per BMI/Lufthansa and the scheme gets dumped into the PPF.
DB Pension "deficits" are theoretical numbers that are almost never actually paid, unless a scheme is wound up and the benefits are bought in the open market. They are required to be shown in company accounts but in reality can be repaid over decades, and if gilt yields and inflation increase they are reduced hugely or eliminated. The bigger the size of the entity buying, the less this is an issue (as per BA/IAG) as the debt can be paid off gradually.
Interestingly the UK government doesn't have to abide by such trivial accounting rules and put money aside for the state pension scheme which is effectively its own DB scheme (i.e. a guaranteed amount uplifted by inflation with no dependence on investment returns) - it simply pays the money out of tax/NI received.
