FTSE 100 firms 'spent five times more on dividends than pension payments'

Britain's biggest companies paid out five times more to their shareholders than they spent plugging the gaps in their pension funds, according to a report.

In what is set to fuel anger over pension scheme funding following the BHS collapse, research revealed FTSE 100 firms with defined benefit schemes - offering a guaranteed income in retirement - paid out £71.8bn in dividends last year compared with £13.3bn in pension contributions.