The defined benefit pension is an endangered species. As accounting rules force companies to plug actuarial deficits in defined benefit (DB) schemes, all but the hardiest of employers have chosen to close their schemes to new members. In the UK in 2000, there were 4.1 million active members of DB schemes but this had fallen to 2.4 million in 2009, according to UK Office of National Statistics data.
Worryingly, the alternative of defined contribution (DC) schemes do not appear to be picking up the slack. In 2000, there were 800,000 active members of such schemes in the UK, but this had only risen to 1 million in 2009.
