ISEQ firms face €4.5bn pension deficit

LISTED Irish companies are facing a €4.5 billion pension deficit, according to figures calculated at year’s end.

Bridging the gap will be a huge challenge in 2011 and require both companies and pension scheme trustees to make tough funding, benefit and investment decisions, a new report said.

At the 2010 year-end the funding status for ISEQ companies was 77%, a figure broadly unchanged from the end of 2009 while pension liabilities stood at 40% of the total market capitalisation of the firms involved.