BT pension: no easy way out

BT should bite the bullet on its pension deficit. The UK telecoms operator’s 17-year plan to plug a 9 billion pound ($14.08 billion) funding hole on its 34 billion pound scheme is weighing on the shares after BT admitted on Feb. 11 that the UK pensions regulator felt uneasy about the agreement. But the group could fill the gap - almost as large as its market capitalisation – faster. While the solutions would not come cheap, the reduced uncertainty may be worth the pain. The current plan involve...