THE total deficit on UK final salary pension schemes has increased by 17 per cent to £248 billion compared with £212bn a year ago amid recent stock market volatility, experts have calculated. JLT Employee Benefits said the figures showed the continuing challenges of managing defined benefit schemes that provide pensions based on members’ final salaries. “With just under half of DB pension assets still invested in equities, schemes are exposed to a huge amount of market volatility, potentially leading to big losses that can further widen the deficit gap,” said director Charles Cowling.