The deficit in UK company pension schemes are now at the highest level since June 2003, according to the Pension Protection Fund.

The organisation's figures suggest the deficit rose from £81bn to £98bn in February, with a fall in the return on government bonds blamed for the rise.

February was the fourth consecutive month in which the deficit has risen as the economy took a turn for the worse after the global credit crisis.

In 2007 company pension schemes had a combined surplus of £3bn, finally wiping out the deficit caused by a weak economy following the dotcom crash.

But the economic downturn has wiped that out and plunged schemes back into the red.