Bombshell in pensions survey

THE stampede to slam the doors shut on final-salary pension schemes continues, an authoritative industry report will reveal today.

The National Association of Pension Funds annual survey will show that the number of companies closing schemes to new entrants has increased this year.

More than 80 pulled up the drawbridge in 2002, almost double the rate in 2001. Many companies are facing massive pension shortfalls and have opted to close schemes. They include British Airways, which this week confessed to a near £1bn pension deficit.

The NAPF survey will reveal that employers' contributions into money purchase schemes - where many shunt new recruits - are only around half as much as the amounts going into final-salary funds.

One ray of hope is that for every employer that has closed a final-salary scheme, two have kept their plans going and raised their contributions.

The findings show a mixed reaction to the Government's plans for a pension protection fund. Employers say they are sympathetic in principle but have mixed views as to how it would work in practice.