The move will affect the 1,000 of the 4,000 members of the scheme who are still employed by the printer.

The closure of the final salary scheme, which was not available to new entrants as of 6 April 2002, took place "following appropriate consultation with trustees and employees", according to a statement.

As a result, St Ives is offering a new defined contribution pension scheme for its members, which went live on Monday (1 September).

The company has also made a £20m lump sum contribution in order to reduce the existing scheme deficit.