Will pensioners face poverty in the future?

This "second wave of cuts" could be even more painful than the last, with an increasing number of employers predicted to abandon their pensions schemes all together.

Human resources consultancy Mercer says this is because the costs of running a typical final salary scheme will rise by 30% over the next five years - and simply closing a scheme to new members reduces that increase by a mere 5%.

Poor stock market returns are punishing many company pension schemes.

At the same time increasing life expectancy is increasing the costs of members' benefits and, as a result, companies are scaling back their pensions.

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PENSIONS IN CRISIS 75% of final salary schemes will close within five years Only one in five of under 34s is concerned about their retirement People from ethnic minorities are at higher risk of pensioner poverty Get more from BBC News Online's pensions website

Mercer said employers were "fooling themselves" by believing closing final salary pension schemes would save on costs.

Peter Bowers, European partner at Mercer, said: "Unless companies have a particularly high staff turnover, such a decision will not significantly reduce their long-term pension liabilities."

But companies which closed their schemes to existing members could face legal action.

Mercer suggest companies make a "compromise solution", such as career hybrid schemes, hybrid schemes and shared-risk final salary schemes, which were easier to sell to the workforce.