Telecom giant BT received the backing of fund trustees for a plan that will see the company make regular payments to the scheme for 17 years. BT said it was a prudent funding plan, but also revealed that the Pensions Regulator had substantial concerns over some areas of the agreement, which is still under review by the pension regulator.

The company is trying to find ways to cover the huge £9 billion deficit in its pension scheme. The 360,000 member's pension scheme is struggling to infuse more funds to cover the deficit as it designs a recovery plan.

This is UK's biggest private sector pension deficit. This agreement comes a month before the March31 deadline which required the company to agree upon the final terms of a funding plan with pension fund trustees.

The Chairman of the BT pension scheme trustees, Rod Kent, said there had been exhaustive efforts over the last 18 months to reach the funding milestone at a time of unprecedented financial turbulence.

There are concerns regarding payments considering the long repayment period, with telecom major's declining bottom line in highly competitive market.