TOTAL defined contribution pension assets have increased for the second month in a row, rising 10 per cent in April to £418 billion.
A report by the Aon Defined Contribution (DC) Pension Tracker claimed that the increase was due to a recent "bullish performance" by global equity markets.
But pension pots still have a long way to go to recoup the losses sustained during the cr
edit crunch.
The tracker estimates that a further 32 per cent increase is required to bring DC assets back to their September 2007 value of £550bn.
Helen Dowsey, principal at Aon Consulting, said: "Global stock markets have seen one of the strongest rallies ever over the last month which has had a positive effect on the projected retirement income for UK retirees.
"Unfortunately because annuity rates are still low this has wiped out some of the investment gain."
She added: "However, given DC pension pots have fallen dramatically since the beginning of the credit crunch it is far too early to say we are witnessing a recovery as yet."
The report also calculated that a worker retiring on their 65th birthday in January this year would have received £266 less a year than someone who worked their final shift in April, due to the previous volatility of the equity markets.
The full article contains 223 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
