You asked
What is the current estimate of unfunded liabilities built up by local and central government?
We said
Thank you for your request.
The most recent estimates of the pension liabilities of unfunded workplace pension schemes for which general government (central government and local government combined) is responsible can be found in the UK National Accounts Table 29: Column G. At the end of 2015, the estimate was approximately £917 billion. It should be noted that these valuations are produced with a time lag, and we have not yet published more recent estimates.
The article Pensions in the national accounts, a fuller picture of the UK’s funded and unfunded pension obligations: 2010 to 2015, published in March 2018, explains the layout of Table 29 and the methodology used in producing estimates of pension liabilities. As stated in Section 11 of the article, we intend to continue producing and publishing Table 29.