EXTRACT: The highest contributions were paid by HSBC at £1.3 billion and Royal Dutch Shell at £702 million.
THE ARTICLE
The black hole in the UK’s largest company pension schemes stands at £36 billion, a study has shown.
Volatile markets pushed the deficit as high as £54 billion in January before it plummeted to £29 billion in April and settled at £36 billion in July – broadly the same as this time last year, the study by actuarial consultants Lane Clark & Peacock found.
Company contributions have risen to record levels – £12.5 billion in 2005, up 12% on the previous year, the survey also found.
The highest contributions were paid by HSBC at £1.3 billion and Royal Dutch Shell at £702 million.
Only five companies in the FTSE 100 reported a pension scheme accounting surplus. These were Associated British Foods, Gallaher Group, Johnson Matthey, Old Mutual and Schroders.
Charlie Finch, consultant at LCP said: “The Pensions Act 2004 and associated legislation encourages companies to accelerate the funding of their pension deficits.
“Although the new legislation makes it more likely that pension scheme members will receive their promised benefits, the price could be more scheme closures as companies are forced to commit cash to funding their deficits instead of paying benefits for current employers.”
On Tuesday, department store chain Debenhams confirmed it is to close its final salary pension scheme to both new and existing members.
The controversial decision followed 18 months of negotiations with the scheme’s trustees.
And support services group Rentokil angered unions in December when it became the first FTSE 100 Index to close its final salary schemes to existing members.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
