The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has recommended that companies give details of any gap between assets in a pension fund and the money needed to buy annuities for pension plan members from an insurer.
In a statement on its website, the ASB made this and other recommendations, although stressed that they were "intended to have persuasive rather than mandatory force" and companies do not have to accept them.
However, ASB proposals are typically widely adopted by UK firms as a mark of best practice.
The cost of insuring pension liabilities is typically known as the "buyout cost" and reporting on this figure could have widespread implications.
Aon condemns recommendationConsulting firm Aon said the recommendation would cause confusion among investors as firms turned out a variety of confusing cost measures.
"If shareholders weren't frightened before, they probably will be now," Aon told Business Insurance.
It added that using the buyout cost to measure the robustness of a specific pension fund is not satisfactory because it is only relevant if a pension scheme is wound up.
"The value of other company assets and liabilities would change dramatically if the company had to disclose their value on company break-up for immediate settlement," Aon said. "This is not consistent with the ongoing concern basis of company accounting."
The ASB has been investigating how businesses in the UK should report on the funding status of final-salary pensions because they have been significantly affected by factors such as longer life expectancy and new accounting laws.
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