Nine out of 10 defined benefit or final salary pension schemes are closed to new entrants with one in five now also closed to future accrual — double that of four years ago — according to a survey by the pensions trade body the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA). And the position continues to deteriorate, says the ACA.

Just 6% of respondents say the government’s stated policy of supporting quality pensions is working  — this is a real crisis which the next government needs to tackle as one of its top priorities after the general election, according to ACA.

Concerns over the affordability of auto-enrolment are a genuine threat to existing schemes of all types, with 59% of employers set to review arrangements ahead of 2012.

A quarter of employers (24%) say they expect to reduce their existing pension scheme benefits to mitigate the cost of higher auto-enrolled membership,

in two years time. And 15% are considering closing their scheme altogether, including 41% of smaller employers. Only a third (32%) of employers have budgeted for the costs of auto-enrolment.

The ACA said that with taxes on business and individuals likely to rise over the next few years, it was difficult to see anything other than a deteriorating climate for pensions savings unless there was a radical change of approach. It added this was a “real crisis which the next government needs to tackle as one of its top priorities after the general election”.

The decline in final salary schemes will have a grim effect on future pensioners’ finances. According to the ACA, employers funding defined benefit schemes contribute an average of 23.2% of earnings, more than three times that contributed to defined contribution or money purchase schemes.