Trinity Mirror newspapers to close final salary pension scheme

Newspaper group Trinity Mirror is to close its final salary pension scheme.

The scheme's deficit is said to have risen from £37m in 2001 to £275m last June.

In an e-mail to staff last week, Trinity Mirror said: "The Group is... proposing to close the defined benefit pension schemes to future pension build-up.

"Current contributing members would no longer build up future benefits in their defined benefit scheme."

The final salary pension scheme was closed to new members in 2002, the BBC reported.

The National Union of Journalists condemned the announcement as the latest in a series of attacks on staff.

Paul Holleran, NUJ Scottish secretary, said: "The scrapping of the final salary scheme is the latest in a long line of attacks on staff at Trinity Mirror and serious questions need to be asked and answered about the capability of the senior Trinity directors."