The UK Mineworkers' Pension Scheme has for the first time been forced to dip in to its surplus to plug a £390m (€554m) hole in its main £7.6bn fund, which carries a government guarantee.

As a result of the switch the scheme's main reserve has almost halved from £785m to £395m. Of the many schemes which have been scrambling to address pension shortfalls in recent months, the mineworkers scheme is in the unusual position of having not only a surplus but also a government guarantee to fall back on.