The chairman of the BBC Pension Scheme Trustees, Jeremy Peat, has said the Fund had a deficit of £470m at the start of April 2008.

He also said that the position was bound to have deteriorated since then - but the Trustees remained confident that "support for the Scheme remains strong".

This is taken from his summary report for 2009:

"The Trustees have published the results of the 2008 interim valuation of the Scheme, together with the annual and summary reports for 2009.

"As many of you know from personal experience, the last year has been a tough one. The Scheme like many other pension schemes, has not been immune from the turbulence that has affected markets around the world and this is reflected in the Scheme's performance.

"Snce the 2007 full valuation, the economy has deteriorated sharply and stock markets have fallen.  The latest annual funding report produced by our actuary shows that the Scheme had a deficit of £470m as at 1 April 2008.  As the downturn in markets has continued since that date, this deficit will undoubtedly have increased by the time the next funding report is produced.  

"I know many of you find this worrying.

"However, the Trustees are discussing the position with the BBC, which has agreed to set aside additional funds to meet increased contributions, in the expectation that these will be required in the future.  Consideration is also being given to other means of supporting the Scheme, e.g. providing security over assets.

"These are unprecedented times but the Trustees recognise that the investments are long term in nature. The investment strategy has been reviewed during the last year and efforts made to de-risk by transferring investments from equities into alternative assets.

"It is important to understand that the Scheme has a positive cash flow and so does not need to sell equities at depressed rates to fund the payment of pensions. Furthermore, the Trustees believe that the BBC's covenant and support for the Scheme remains strong. They will continue to monitor the position carefully."

More information can be found in the My Pension section of the BBC website.