Corus pension fund loses £1bn

ANGLO-Dutch steelmaker Corus has had up to £1bn wiped off the value of its pension fund this year. An actuarial review just completed shows that it is still in surplus, but stock market losses mean that assets now exceed liabilities by only 'several hundred million pounds', according to an insider.

That compares with a £1.8bn credit reported in 2001 under the new FRS17 accounting rules. Corus has one of the largest pension fund obligations of any FTSE 100 company with liabilities of £9.5bn, almost six times bigger than its stock market value.

It plans to close its final salary scheme, which has 200,000 members, to new employees next April - a move unions are opposing with the threat of industrial action. The two sides are due to meet to discuss the review at the TUC conference in Blackpool on Tuesday. The Iron & Steel Trades Confederation, the largest steelworkers' union, will argue that with the fund still showing a healthy surplus, pension rights should be protected.

The company is expected this week to report a first-half loss of about £300m.