The Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) has announced plans to tie annual levies more closely into the risk that each scheme poses.

This would be the first time that pension payments have been linked into the risk of a particular strategy.

"It is not about telling trustees how to invest, and our economic analysis suggests that there are no economic incentives [in the plan] to changing strategy," said Partha Dasgupta, PPF chief executive.

The average shortfall of pension schemes in deficit rose from £37bn in October 2007 to £122bn a year later. The PPF argue that their proposal will reduce the year-to-year volatility of pension schemes.

It is not expected that the new levy system will be implemented before the 2011-2012 financial year.