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Often known as final-salary schemes, these pensions pay a proportion of people's salary at the point they retire.

The Pension Regulator wanted to ensure Samuel Smith was earning enough money to support the final-salary pension schemes of its employees, but its owner, Humphrey Smith, dismissed the request as “tiresome”.

For example, were interest rates to fall again or should company profits fall, this could put pressure on the longevity of employers' final-salary schemes, which could close.

Pension advice - specifically firms encouraging savers to leave a defined benefit, or final-salary, deal to move to investment-based products - will come under the microscope.

Young academic staff already in the scheme are being promised they will be paid a final-salary pension in 40 or 50 years' time.