Mercer’s Pensions Risk Survey data shows the accounting deficit of defined benefit pension schemes for the UK’s 350 largest listed companies increased by £20 billion in less than one month.

At the end of last month, asset values showed a £23 billion increase when compared to the end of June, whilst liability values also showed a fairly sizeable increase. Human resource experts said that pension liabilities have reached an all-time high when analysing Mercer monthly deficit data.

One senior partner in Mercer’s Retirement business said the continued fall in high quality corporate bond yields meant an increase in liability values.

HR experts also explain that the vote for Brexit is obviously playing a factor. Depending on a person’s investment strategy and the nature of a sponsor’s business, some people will be more affected than others.

It is recommended that pension holders work through a series of scenarios and situations that might happen. These can be ranked in order of likelihood, which will then help identify threats and opportunities.

The Mercer data relates to about half of the all UK scheme liabilities. The survey’s underlying data is refreshed as companies report their year-end accounts. It is also important to note, data released by the Pensions Regulator tells a very similar story to the Mercer data.