Employer contributions to defined contribution (DC) pensions in the UK have risen only 3% in the past three years, despite huge market falls and companies' claims that scheme members without access to defined benefit (DB) plans would not be substantially worse off in retirement.

A survey of 242 occupational UK pension schemes by the Pension Fund Partnership found that a third of all DB schemes have been closed to new members. One in four schemes that are still open to new members indicated they will close in the next 12 months.