A number of significant questions in relation to pensions remain unanswered less than a week away from the referendum on Scottish independence, says SEI.

In a paper entitled What would Scottish independence mean for pensions schemes?, the investment manager has warned that if Scotland votes to go it alone then it will have to address a number of crucial areas in pension provision, including uncertainty around the future and legacy issues surrounding Scottish pension schemes or UK schemes with Scottish members.

SEI has asked whether such schemes will be eligible for pension protection, which metrics they need to use to measure inflation and whether scheme liabilities will be linked to Scottish bonds.

On the plus side, SEI says that if the Union were to break up, then a 1% to 3% negative impact on the value of the pound would be "generally positive for UK pension schemes" as most fund’s overseas holdings are not fully hedged.

The investment management company has also said that pension scheme trustees need to consider what the impact of a possible lower credit rating for Scotland (in comparison to the UK) and a threat of recession would mean for their funds. SEI said that an economic downturn could be triggered by a possible flight of bank assets in the immediate aftermath of a 'Yes' vote.

"Possible rising volatility and uncertainty should act as a timely reminder to trustees to check that they are comfortable with the level and types of risks they are running, particularly currency and rate risk," said SEI, in the paper.

"From a governance point of view, are trustees willing to take advantage of market opportunities such as a spike in long term interest rates? For example, if long term rates did rise by 0.25% the average UK pension scheme funding level might rise by around 3-4% thus presenting an opportunity to de-risk," it added.

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