THE pension fund for the company that operated the now defunct Ryde ice rink faces a deficit of tens of thousands of pounds.

Planet Ice, which operated the rink from 1991 until it closed three years ago, faces a pension deficit of £27,000 after the company ceased to be an employer in 2015.

The Isle of Wight Council said they had tried to recover the money from the company but had not been successful.

However, the council said everyone who has paid into the fund will receive their pension as normal.

The total value of pension funds for employees of the council, and subcontractors — such as Planet Ice, or Island Roads — is more than £600 million.

The council said the £27,000 deficit from Planet Ice would be taken from the entire pension pot.

The money will not need to be found immediately but, given the nature of pensions, the £27,000 will need to be found over the next ten to forty years.

The fund is operating at more than 97 per cent funded — meaning overall the pension pot for the council is in deficit by £18 million.

A spokesperson for the council said that given the overall value of the fund, it is a very small percentage that remains unfunded, and there would be no issue recovering the money for the pension.

The ice rink was leased to Planet Ice by the Isle of Wight Council in 1999. In 2014, the lease was bought by investment company BNY Mellon, which the sub-let it back to Planet Ice.

The rink was closed in 2015 after accruing losses of £140,000 a year.