The General Lighthouse Authorities, which administers the country's lighthouses and other coastal navigation aids, could become one of the first UK public bodies to switch its pensions scheme to a new funded structure, which may herald a sea-change in the way the country addresses its £1 trillion (€1.3 trillion) of unfunded public sector pensions debt.

The GLA, comprising English and Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish bodies, has hired the pensions consultancy Hymans Robertson to "help modernise" its pension arrangements, including the possibility of designing a new funded scheme, where its liabilities are backed by assets, rather than UK taxpayers.