Councils in the Black Country will have to put an extra £87 million of taxpayers’ money into workers’ pension funds over the next three years to try to rein in the deficit.

The West Midlands Pension Fund, which is used by thousands of public sector workers throughout the region, needs to plug a hole of £2.6 billion.

Bosses have stressed that there is no risk to people’s pensions but said that the £8 billion in assets it had meant that it only had about 75 per cent of the overall funds it needs. However this would be sufficient for the next 20 years.

The fund invests in the global stock market and its value fluctuates with the rest of the economy.

To try to get the fund up to 100 per cent councils are increasing the amount they pay in employer contributions from around 12 per cent to 18 per cent of each employee’s salary.

To read our stories in full, log in to the premium 24 website.