The 3, 800 staff affected will be offered membership of the company's defined contribution scheme instead.

BBC: Asda store facia

Workers at Severn Trent are being consulted over proposals for existing pensions to be replaced by one new defined contribution scheme.

BBC: Severn Trent proposes pension changes

The Asda employees, mainly managerial and administrative staff, will join the defined contribution scheme that has been on offer to new recruits since 2005.

BBC: Asda store facia

Where they are members of a final-salary scheme they typically pay in 5.1% of their salaries, but in a defined contribution scheme contribute just 2.7%.

BBC: Pension provision still falling, says ONS

The company said it would also improve its defined contribution scheme.

BBC: Asda store facia

But in a defined-contribution scheme another year of work probably means a better pension.

ECONOMIST: All hands on deck

Indeed, Sandy Springs has no long-term liabilities at all, since the whole point of a 401(k) defined-contribution scheme is to avoid them.

ECONOMIST: Government services

So, like many employers in many places, it wants to phase in contributions for existing employees and substitute a defined-contribution scheme for new ones.

ECONOMIST: The workers may be biting off more than they can chew

It thinks that nearly half of employers whose schemes are still open to new joiners will close them, with a defined-contribution (DC) scheme being offered to the staff instead.

BBC: Pension scheme closures speed up

Employee membership of any company pension scheme - final-salary, defined contribution or stakeholder, public and private sector - dropped to 48% last year.

BBC: Pension provision still falling, says ONS