A staggering deficit exists in the funding of pension benefits for civil servants, teachers, National Health Service employees and the emergency services.

Although not run the same way as privately funded schemes, using the same principles, the actuarial consultants Watson Wyatt estimate that unfunded public sector pension liabilities are approaching £690 billion.

This is the amount the government would have to borrow today if it wanted to create a fund able to pay for the pension rights already accumulated by public sector workers. It highlights why the government is moving to cut back on public sector pensions. Public sector unions, unhappy at recent proposals, are threatening strike action and today taking part in a "day of action".

It has long been known that public sector workers have generous pensions compared with private sector employees on similar wages. This is evident from figures, from the Pensions Commission, that show that,although they make up only 10%per cent of the workforce, they have built up 29% of the accrued pension rights in the UK.

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