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The UK’s biggest companies collectively have a £22 billion surplus in their pension schemes despite the recent financial market turmoil.

Accountants Deloitte said despite stock market falls in response to the global credit crisis, UK equity markets had still returned around 5% since the beginning of the year.

It said the returns had helped improve the funding position of final salary schemes of FTSE 100 companies, giving them a collective surplus of £22 billion.

The group said the schemes had also been boosted by a drop in the liabilities they faced following a fall in the price of company bonds, providing a further boost for their funding position.

Corporate bonds are used to measure the value of pension scheme liabilities on company balance sheets, but the price of the bonds has fallen in the face of uncertainty over borrowers’ ability to repay their debts.

Deloitte said this price fall had knocked around £60 billion off the value of pension scheme liabilities since the beginning of the year.

David Robbins, a pensions partner at Deloitte, said: “The majority of pension schemes have little direct exposure to sub-prime loans and mortgages.

“The growth of scheme assets has been indirectly affected as pension schemes hold shares in banks and financial institutions, and most pension funds will have exposure to broader credit markets through their holdings in non-government bonds and any holding in cash.

“But as the largest losses have been made in the financial sector, a well diversified portfolio of shares typically held by a pension scheme will have performed better.”

The housing market appeared to shrug off the turmoil in global credit markets during September but it has continued to show signs of cooling, new figures reveal.

House prices rose by 0.7% during the month, their strongest gain since April this year, to leave the average UK property costing £184,723, Nationwide Building Society said.

But the underlying trend in growth continued to be that of a slowing market, with annual house price inflation dropping to 9%, its lowest level for nearly a year.

At the same time the three-month growth rate eased to just 1.6% for the three months to the end of September, the smallest gain since July 2006.

Evidence that the market is slowing was backed by new figures from the British Bankers’ Association.

These showed a fall in the number of mortgages approved for people buying a house for the third month in a row, with 9% fewer loans arranged than during July and 14% fewer than in August last year.

The total value of all mortgages in the pipeline during August was £19.1 billion, just 0.2% higher than 12 months ago, while the total amount advanced was £21 billion, 1% above the figure for August last year.

Philip Shaw, an economist at Investec, said: “This fits with the picture of a weaker housing market and probably reflects the fact that interest rates were increased in July.”

Data on the housing market has presented a mixed picture in recent weeks, with some indexes suggesting a slow down is now well under way, while others have pointed to house prices remaining relatively resilient to recent hikes in interest rates.

But the recent turbulence in global credit markets is expected to have a cooling effect on the market, leading to higher costs for some mortgages and making lenders become more risk averse.

Contribution levels to most pension schemes are too low to provide their members with a decent income during retirement, a consultancy group has warned.

The group, Mercer, said if the amount of money paid into defined contribution schemes stayed the same, the majority of members would get more from the state pension than they did from their occupational scheme.

It said defined contribution pensions, under which companies only guarantee how much they will pay in and not what the pension will be worth at retirement, had become increasingly popular in recent years as firms closed their more generous final salary schemes.

Nearly two-thirds of defined contribution schemes had been set up since 2000, Mercer said, and 93% of the 400 companies it questioned now only offered a defined contribution scheme to new staff.

But Mercer said despite there being a slight increase in the amount of money paid into the schemes in recent years, contribution levels still averaged only 10.4% of a member’s pay.

Employers currently contribute about 6.8% of a worker’s salary, with individuals putting in 3.6%.

The consultancy group said this meant employees were left meeting a third of the cost of their pensions and shouldering 100% of the risk.

Tony Pugh, UK head of defined contribution pension services at Mercer, said: “Total contributions, while slightly up, still fall short of supporting decent pensions for the majority of people.

“At the current rate, most employees will get more pension through state benefits than their occupational plan, which may come as a surprise to many.

Research carried out by the group found that 52% of people expected to get an occupational pension worth more than half of their pay before they retired. But at current contribution rates the average person who had been a member of a scheme for 30 years was more likely to get a pension worth just 20% to 30% of their pay, Mercer said.

The number of mortgages approved for people buying a home fell for the third month in a row during August as the market continued to show signs of cooling, new figures show.

A total of 61,051 home loans were approved for people moving house during the month, 9% fewer than in July and 14% below the figure for August last year, the British Bankers’ Association said.

There was also a drop in the number of loans arranged by people who were remortgaging and those who were releasing equity from their property compared with July’s figures, although both the number and value of loans for remortgaging were up year-on-year.

Overall, a total of 168,291 mortgages were approved during August, nearly 9% fewer than in the same month last year.

The total value of the loan pipeline for the month was £19.1 billion, just 0.2% higher than 12 months ago, while the total amount advanced was £21 billion, 1% above the figure for August last year.

The average value of a mortgage approved for someone buying a house reached £153,800 during August, 9% higher than a year ago, but down slightly on the previous month’s figure.

David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said: “With house price inflation still in double digits, we might have expected stronger gross lending in August. However, we are seeing a similar level to last year, which suggests that volumes are lower.

“Other than the current spate of remortgaging, loan approval numbers also endorse our view that customer demand was starting to moderate even before the September difficulties in the financial markets.”

The figures come as Nationwide Building Society said the property market shrugged off the turmoil in global credit markets during September, with prices rising by 0.7%.

But it added that while this was the strongest rise since April this year, annual house price growth eased back to 9%, its lowest level for nearly a year, and the three-month growth rate dropped to just 1.6%, the smallest gain since July 2006.

The buy-to-let mortgage market has been hit by the recent turmoil in global credit markets, with firms tightening their lending criteria and raising fees.

Financial information group Moneyfacts said that while the prime residential lending market had so far been largely unaffected by the problems in financial markets, lenders in the buy-to-let sector were becoming more cautious.

It said there had been a number of changes to products during September, with lenders tightening their lending criteria, increasing fees and withdrawing some products completely.

The group said the most obvious change had been an increase in the so-called minimum rental cover demanded by some lenders.

This refers to the level of rent on a buy-to-let property relative to monthly mortgage repayments.

Moneyfacts said some lenders had increased the minimum rental cover from 100% of monthly mortgage repayments to up to 110%, while others had withdrawn products that allowed lower levels.

It said the move bucked the trend seen in recent years of reducing the level of rental income cover needed, which it claimed was a “definite sign” of a more cautious outlook.

At the same time the group said some lenders had withdrawn their entire range of buy-to-let mortgages, while others had withdrawn variable and tracker rate products.

Arrangement fees have also hit new records, with some lenders charging 5% of the amount borrowed to take out a mortgage, as fee income becomes a key source of revenue for lenders.

Waiters and waitresses are staging demonstrations outside restaurants to highlight complaints that customers’ tips are being counted as part of their wages.

Unite said thousands of waiting staff in London were having their wages subsidised by tips which often meant they suffered a pay cut when on holiday or off sick.

The union claimed that most restaurant employers were taking a cut of tips to boost their profits.

Unite is campaigning for a change in the law to stop restaurant employers counting tips as part of workers’ wages.

Customers will be urged to leave any tips in cash and to make sure they go direct to the staff.

Dave Turnbull, regional officer of Unite, said: “Many customers would be horrified if they knew their service charge went towards paying hard-working waiters and waitresses the minimum wage rather than rewarding good service.

“Eating out in London is an expensive business yet restaurants are raking it in from high prices, sometimes cheating the customer and the worker.

“Tips and service charges should always be considered an addition to a decent living wage.

“As well as urging a change in the minimum wage law that allows employers to take advantage, customers can also help by asking the restaurant where the tips go.”

Young people are urging the Government to bring an end to the three-tier minimum wage system, arguing that it breaches the spirit of age discrimination legislation.

The British Youth Council (BYC) is presenting the Low Pay Commission - which advises the Government on the minimum wage - with 580 letters from young people calling for an equal national minimum wage for everyone aged 16 and over.

The delivery coincides with the closure of the commission’s annual consultation on the issue.

Currently, the wage stands at £3.30 an hour for 16 and 17-year-olds, £4.25 an hour for 18 to 21-year-olds and £5.35 an hour for those aged 22 and over. On October 1, it will rise to £3.40 for 16 and 17-year-olds, £4.60 for 18 to 21-year-olds and £5.52 an hour for those aged 22 and over.

The BYC argues that this is deeply discriminatory.

Spokeswoman Jo Field said: “BYC believes the age-tiered minimum wage system contravenes the spirit, if not the letter of the Employment Discrimination (Age) Regulations 2006.

“BYC is campaigning for equal pay for equal work, regardless of age, and this is a human rights issue.

“The Government needs to take a positive step towards creating cultural change by sending out the clear message that young people have equal ‘worth’ in the labour market.

“BYC urges the Low Pay Commission to act on young people’s evidence and advise ministers to introduce an equal minimum wage for all.”

A statement from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said the Government had always acted on the recommendations of the commission.

More than two thirds of financial advisers who are tied to a bank or building society are failing to give people good advice, a consumer group has warned.

Which? said only 32% of tied advisers, who work mainly for high street banks and building societies and can recommend products from only a limited number of providers, passed all its tests on giving advice.

Independent financial advisers (IFAs), who can recommend products from across the whole market, faired better, with 48% passing all of the group’s tests.

The consumer group, which tests the quality of financial advice each year, said seven tied advisers had made misleading statements about the range of products they could recommend, suggesting the choice was much larger than it was.

Thirteen advisers, both independent and tied, also misled customers over cost, and three IFAs did not discuss the cost of the advice at all, despite being supposed to give consumers the choice of paying for it through an up-fee or by commission on any products they buy.

Researchers for the group visited 40 advisers at major high street banks and building societies in April and May this year, claiming they had received an inheritance of around £30,000 and asking for advice on how to make the money work for them.

Most of the researchers were in their mid-50s to 60s, they were cautious investors with only around £3,000 in savings and they had a mortgage and a loan.

They found that 14 advisers failed to properly carry out a fact-finding exercise on their circumstances and financial needs, despite this being a key part of the advice process, and one IFA made a recommendation after just 10 minutes. More than a quarter of advisers also failed to assess people’s attitude to risk properly.

The group said it was also disappointed that half of the advisers its researchers spoke to did not recommend they repaid their debts before investing the money.

But the group did say the pass rate for its financial advice test had improved since last year, when just 34% of IFAs and 16% of tied advisers met all its criteria.

Britain’s affluent consumers are more likely to spend time looking for a bargain than treating themselves to a luxury purchase.

Around 57% of people earning between £35,000 and £70,000, dubbed the mass affluent, said they examined all options and price ranges before making a purchase, according to MasterCard.

But just 5% of this group said they would buy whatever they wanted regardless of the price.

Nearly three-quarters of mass affluents said they would not spend more than £200 on a dinner for a special occasion, and only 30% would spend more than £1,000 on a luxury weekend for them and their partner.

Instead four out of 10 people in this group said they thought they should save money in case their income dropped in future.

Around 35% also said having a high personal income made them more socially and ethically aware.

John Bushby, general manager of MasterCard Northern Europe, said: “We know from our ongoing research that mass affluent consumers are well informed ‘cherry pickers’ - they demand leading products and are careful in their approach to spending, showing a determination to get the best value for money from all their purchases.”

Future Laboratories questioned 1,002 people with an income of between £35,000 and £70,000.

The number of homes selling for more than £1 million has nearly trebled during the past five years, figures showed.

A total of 6,170 properties in England and Wales sold for at least seven figures during the year to the end of June, compared with just 2,249 in the 12 months to June 2002, according to Halifax Estate Agents.

The group estimates that there are now around 88,000 homes valued at more than £1 million in England and Wales, up from just 30,000 five years ago.

Unsurprisingly more than half of all properties sold for at least £1 million during the 12 months were in London, although the capital’s share of homes valued at at least seven figures is shrinking, dropping from 68% five years ago, as prices rise across the rest of the country.

Around 6% of all homes sold for more than £1 million were in the North during the 12 months to the end of June, double the proportion seen five years earlier.

Overall a third of postcode districts in England and Wales had at least one property in them that sold for at least £1 million during the year to the end of June, compared with only 17% five years previously.

Around 59% of districts in London and 57% in the South East had at least one of the sales, although this fell to just 15% outside of the south of England. Even so, the number of homes outside of the south of England selling for at least seven figures has more than doubled during the past two years alone to 393 homes.

Seven out of 10 sales of £1 million homes were concentrated in just 5% of postcode districts, with SW3 in Chelsea in London seeing the highest number of sales, followed by SW7 in South Kensington, W8 in Kensington and SW6 in Chelsea.

Outside of London, Cobham in Surrey had the highest number of homes that sold for at least seven figures, while postcodes in Altrincham and Macclesfield had the highest number outside of the south of England.

Halifax Estate Agents also said 1,067 homes in England and Wales sold for more than £2 million during the year to the end of June. Nearly three-quarters of these sales were in London, but every region apart form Wales had at least one home that sold for £2 million-plus.