The UK government has attacked employers who are closing down final salary pension funds without warning that they will cut contribution rates, describing such practices as 'simply unacceptable'.

Ruth Kelly, financial secretary to the UK government, told delegates at the Society of Pensions Consultants (SPC) conference in London that the pension system was based on partnership, and "openness and trust are not optional extras". The call, ahead of regulatory reform proposals later this month, marked the first time the government has taken up the pension industry's demand for employees and corporate sponsors to work together. It also came as Centrica, the UK energy conglomerate, revealed it had entered into negotiations with its trade unions over pension benefits at the company.