A year after budget crisis, UK debt faces fresh pensions challenge

BRITAIN’S pensions industry, Europe’s biggest, is posing a new challenge to the country’s £2 trillion government bond market a year on from the “mini-budget” crisis that put the sector at the centre of financial stability fears.

Pension funds are big buyers of UK debt, known as gilts, but they are likely to step back just as the Bank of England (BoE) reduces its own holdings faster and debt issuance remains high, adding pressure on British borrowing costs.