IT IS of little surprise that more firms are looking to freeze their final salary pension schemes, according to Guernsey Association of Pension Providers chairman Stephen Ainsworth.

According to the results of a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey published on Tuesday, 55 firms out of 157 who replied intended to freeze their schemes for members within the next five years, while 16% had already closed their schemes to current members.

And 96% of companies who responded believed their schemes were unsustainable.

The trend was also the same in Guernsey, added Mr Ainsworth (pictured).

‘It’s much the same here as it is in the UK. Most employers have been reviewing their pension arrangements and many that have final salary pension schemes have closed them to new members and moved towards defined contribution schemes.

‘Within the islands we have been following the trend seen in the UK, maybe a little behind, but we are moving pretty much in the same direction.’

He said the reasons for the change in direction in terms of pension schemes was two-fold locally, and three-fold in the UK.