The Accounting Standards Board is attempting to influence European countries’ standards in pension liabilities as well as the UK’s, according to the Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS).

TPAS has noted that many European countries also have defined-benefit schemes and the debate as to how such things should be managed has continued for years among professionals in the field.

Asked if the ASB is trying to help the economy by taking money from pension schemes and putting it into productivity, Des Hamilton, technical director for the Pensions Advisory Service, commented: “I think it’s all very academic. The particular suggestion at the moment is that the Board is trying to influence not just the UK, they are putting this forward to influence a debate that’s going on with international accounting standards about the whole way we account for pension liabilities.

He added that the UK is not the only country with defined-benefit schemes and that management strategies for such schemes have long been debated.

Mr Hamilton also noted that, while actuaries often do the valuing on behalf of the trustees, it is actually the accountants that deal directly with company accounts.

TPAS has announced that its website is receiving more than half a million visits a year.

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