Royal Mail, the UK's formerly state-owned postal operator, is to shut down its final salary pension scheme completely, after years of reforms and cutbacks failed to put it on a sustainable footing, according to the company.

Arguing that its pension contributions will more than double to £1 billion a year in 2018, Royal Mail said in a statement today, April 13: "We have concluded that there is no affordable solution to keeping the plan open," and it will therefore shut on March 31, 2018.