TELECOMS giant BT said today it had won the support of pension trustees over plans to tackle a record deficit of £9 billion.

BT - which has the UK’s biggest pension fund - said it had reached agreement with guardians of the 340,000-member scheme for payments to plug the funding hole under a 17-year recovery plan.

The trustees have backed previously announced plans to pay £525 million a year for three years, which will rise to £583 million in the fourth year and grow at a rate of 3% annually after that.

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 pensions watchdog.

Confirmation of the pensions deficit, based on a triennial valuation at the end of 2008, was made as BT reported third quarter figures showing a 39% leap in underlying pre-tax profits to £466 million, helped by improvements at its embattled global services arm.