The Company operates the following pension schemes in the UK. There were no contributions prepaid or outstanding at either 31 December 2008 or 31 December 2007 in respect of these schemes and the Company has no liability for retirement benefits.
- Legal & General Group UK Pension and Assurance Fund (the Fund). The Fund is a defined benefit scheme which was closed to new members from January 1995; last full actuarial valuation as at 31 December 2006.
- Legal & General Group UK Senior Pension Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme is a defined benefit scheme which, with a few exceptions (principally transfers from the Fund), was closed to new members from August 2000 and finally closed to new members from April 2007; last full actuarial valuation as at 31 December 2006.
- Legal & General Group Personal Pension Plan (UK) – a defined contribution scheme.
- Legal & General Staff Stakeholder Pension Scheme (UK) – a defined contribution scheme.
As the Fund and the Scheme are effectively closed to new members, under the projected unit method of valuation, the current service costs will increase as the age profile of active members rises.
In the UK, the Fund and the Scheme are multi-employer defined benefit schemes, which, as the Company’s share of the underlying assets and liabilities cannot be identified, have been treated for reporting purposes as defined contribution schemes. There was a deficit in respect of these schemes for the year ended 31 December 2008 of £101m (2007: £130m) and the contributions in respect of them for the year were £54m (2007: £38m). Further information is given in Note 39 of the Group’s consolidated financial statements.