Shell has written the last chapter in the history of gold-plated retirement benefits for future generations when it became the last of Britain’s biggest companies to scrap its final-salary pension scheme for new entrants. Shell is believed to be the last FTSE 100 company to allow new staff into its final-salary pension scheme after it said new joiners would be forced to accept a cheaper option after 2013.
A study by the Association of Consulting Actuaries published this week found that nine out of 10 private sector defined benefit schemes are now closed to new entrants and four out of 10 prevent existing staff building up further benefits. The National Association of Pension Funds estimates that only 19% of private sector schemes are now open to new joiners, compared with 88% 10 years ago.
