Atkins agrees plan to plug pension gap

WS Atkins, the engineer working on Crossrail, today unveiled plans to tackle a pension funding gap swollen to £430 million.

The last time the final salary scheme was thoroughly evaluated was three years ago when the funding gap was found to be £293 million.

Pension deficits have soared in recent years during the financial crisis, as equities proved volatile and bonds, though safe, paid out such measly returns while the number of retirees the funds support has grown.

Atkins, which is also revamping Farringdon station as part of the Thameslink upgrade programme, said that a long-term repayment plan to plug the funding gap had been agreed with the pension plan’s trustee. These sees £32 million paid for the first two financial years, with the amount growing 2.5% per year to March 2025.

The firm said the Government’s infrastructure investment programme was underpinning particularly strong demand for its rail and highways experts. But turnover is again expected to be flat in the full-year to March at around £1.7 billion.