Pension trustees 'must remain prudent'

28/01/2010 Pension trustees 'must remain prudent'

Pension scheme trustees need to remain prudent, despite the number of corporate insolvencies falling again in the final quarter of 2009.

This is according to audit jobs provider PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which warned that there can often be a jump in the amount of companies that fail when the economy improves.

Figures from the Big Four firm showed that 4,380 businesses went under between October and December 2009, compared to 4,672 in the third quarter, 4,931 in the second and 5,448 in the opening three months of the year.

However, partner and pension credit advisory leader at PwC Jonathon Land called on trustees to stay cautious, noting that they "have a responsibility to ensure they continue to monitor their sponsors' strength and are open to different ways to optimise their schemes' positions".

He added that they need to observe future spending plans by scheme sponsors, especially as many organisations will be raising their capital expenditure.

Last week, the Confederation of British Industry noted that companies will continue to go under in the coming months, with the group's Matthew Fell describing the road ahead as "pretty bumpy".

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