Final-salary pension scheme closures at BP and Barclays

The future looks bleaker than ever for final-salary schemes following announcements of scheme closures from two of the biggest pension funds in the UK.

In the case of BP, its financially healthy, non-contributory defined-benefit (DB) scheme will close to new members from April 2010, while Barclays is in discussions with staff about closing its DB UK Retirement Fund (UKRF) to existing members.