Analysis from Credit Suisse shows Britain’s biggest companies would be left with a combined pensions funding deficit of about £100bn.
They include Lloyds, which has a pensions deficit of £659m, and BP, which had a £1.3bn deficit at the last count in 2011.
One pensions expert warned that some companies may have to go cap in hand to shareholders to raise the money, according to the Daily Mail.
They said: “This would be an absolute disaster. Most of the big companies have billions of pounds of deficit – so they might have to split the scheme in two, one for Scotland and one for the UK. It would be an absolute nightmare.”
The giant deficit could emerge because final salary pension schemes with members in both Scotland and England could be treated as ‘cross border’ and subject to stricter EU rules.
This means they would have to be ‘fully funded’ at all times.
Instead of being able to whittle down their pensions deficits over the longer term, firms such as RBS could be forced to plug them more quickly if an independent Scotland manages to renegotiate membership of the EU.
Last week, five banks based in Scotland, including RBS and Lloyds, finally admitted they would shift their registered offices south of the border if there is a Yes vote.
