UK Pension funds to offload assets in coming weeks

Britain’s company pension schemes, grappling with ageing former employees and low investment returns, may start to transfer their assets into new so-called superfunds in the coming weeks, according to people involved in the process.

There are around £2 trillion (€2.3trn) in more than 5,000 UK private defined benefit or final salary pension schemes. Nearly two-thirds are in deficit, putting a burden on companies looking to strike merger deals or restructure debt.