The shortfall in the £178 billion Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales, which covers council staff such as cleaners, care workers, clerical staff and librarians, has increased in cash terms to £50 billion, according to the most comprehensive recent analysis of its finances.

A Mercer analysis of 80 of the 89 funds in England and Wales estimates an average funding level of around 78%. If applied to all funds, that would mean a liability of £228 billion backed by assets of £178 billion. The figure is dated March 2013, the last valuation date for the component funds. At the previous three-yearly valuation, in 2010, the deficit was put at £38 billion.