The Noughties were a tough time for pension funds in the UK and globally. The decade began with the bursting of the dotcom bubble, which was followed by the introduction of a new accounting standard that highlighted, some would argue unrealistically, the liabilities that employers face in offering defined benefit pension schemes.

Next, additional costs to employers from the Pension Protection Fund combined with a steep decline in real yields against which liabilities are measured added further pressure. Just to add insult to injury we ended the decade with the banking crisis.