The employer's contributions are set by agreement between BT and the Trustees of the scheme following regular independent valuations of the scheme carried out by the scheme's actuary.

Pursuant to the December 2008 triennial valuation, published in February 2010, the combined employer/employee contribution rate is 13.6% of salary in respect of all active members of the scheme (i.e. current BT employees).

This valuation also recorded a sizeable deficit in the scheme of £9bn, which has accrued as a result of prior contributions being insufficient to meet the obligations earned in respect of service before the 2008 valuation. BT has agreed to pay this off in a 'recovery plan' taking place over a 17-year period, with initial additional contributions of £525m in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and to follow this with an annual payment of £583m in 2012, thereafter rising annually, reaching £868m until 2025.

The scheme finances will be kept under close and ongoing review and will continue to be formally reviewed every three years by an actuary - with the next valuation due as at 31 December 2011. It may be that the payments and/or the payment period will need to be adjusted in the light of experience at that point, the Pensions Regulator having already expressed 'serious concerns' over the length of the existing recovery plan.