News that St Ives has closed its final salary pension scheme to future accrual will, I'm sure, be of interest to print bosses at companies that are still trying to find ways to tackle the pension scheme nightmares that have unfolded over the past 15 years or so.

Talking to management at the group, it's clear they regret having to close it and would far prefer to still be in a position to offer employees the benefit of such a scheme. But the government's tax grab, combined with legislative changes, have made life impossible. Trying to get a pension deficit under control these days is like wrestling jelly. At St Ives' 2007 year-end the scheme deficit was £45.2m, by the half-year this year it was back up at £55m. And unlike some businesses, St Ives has stuck in a lot of money to shore up the scheme - four years ago the group paid in £25m, this week it's stumped up a further £20m.

So the group came to the conclusion, in common with lots of other companies, that the only way to control such a liability is to stop accruing for the future. Communisis did the same thing last year with its final salary scheme. It will be no surprise if other industry businesses follow their example - if they're able to, that is. Here's a depressing list of print pension schemes that are already in the hands of the Pension Protection Fund: Arkle Print, Brian Reed (Northern), Buckley & Bland, Burall, Butler & Tanner, George Waterston & Sons, JW Arrowsmith, Openshaw, Quebecor World, Waddie & Co, and Walsall Print Group. Will this list grow? You bet it will.

Seems to me that the only people who don't have to lose much sleep worrying about defined benefit pensions and how they are funded are MPs and civil servants, where the good old taxpayer is stuffed for the ever-increasing bill; and indeed union officials whose schemes are funded by membership subs. In fact, does any print union member reading this happen to know what percentage of the subs they pay goes towards funding the £11.2m deficit in the Unite scheme? It would be interesting to find out.