The economic crisis has wiped around £65 billion off assets in the pension schemes of the UK's largest 100 companies, according to Big 4 financial services firm Deloitte.
It has claimed that the loss is equivalent to five years' worth of current pension contributions from these firms.
The £65 billion crash corresponds to a return of -17 per cent over the year although returns achieved by individual schemes vary.
It is also estimated that FTSE 100 pension schemes are in deficit by £130 billion.
David Robbins, Deloitte pensions partner, said: "Management should engage with trustees to reach an acceptable agreement on cash contributions which takes into account the level of contributions the company can reasonably afford.
"The events of the last year show that companies need to be comfortable with the amount of investment risk they are taking relative to their financial resources."
Meanwhile, research has found that the average person believes the basic state pension needs to double to provide a comfortable retirement.
According to a study from Friends Provident, 57 per cent of people plan to rely on their state pensions solely or partly in their retirement.
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