Pensions deficit
Wellcome Trust, Nuffield Health and Barnardo's face biggest shortfalls, says website Charity Financials
The country's largest 5,000 charities listed a combined pensions deficit of £1.66bn in their most recent accounts, according to research from charity data website Charity Financials.
The site found that 522 of the top 5,000 charities operated a defined-benefit pension and these groups had seen their pension deficits rise by more than 50 per cent over the past two years.
The largest deficit was that of the health foundation Wellcome Trust, at £102.7m, followed by Nuffield Health, which had a deficit of £72.3m, and Barnardo's, which had a deficit of £63.2m.
A spokesman for Charity Financials said: "As in most economic cycles, the markets will bounce back – and when they do, there will be an increase in the value of pension scheme assets.
"This will go some way towards reducing the overall long-term liability in years to come. In the meantime, charities and social enterprises have a major challenge in managing the impact of this potentially huge problem."
