Regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press will close its final-salary pension scheme to existing members on 30 June.
The move is expected to affect around 15 per cent of the publisher’s 6,408 staff – around 960 employees.
The affected staff will be eligible to join a ‘money purchase scheme’when the final salary scheme closes, the publisher said.
The deficit of the final salary scheme, which is already closed to new members, had risen by £72m since 2002, the company said today, reaching £146m.
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Johnston Press, which counts the Yorkshire Post and the Scotsman amongst its flagship titles, blamed rising costs for the closure.
John Fry, chief executive of Johnston Press, said: ‘Our main aim is to protect the benefits that are already built up in the final salary section of the plan.
‘To do this we need to ensure that the shortfall is controlled and reduced and that we provide a pension arrangement that is competitive and sustainable for the company”.
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