Daily Mail & General Trust, which includes regional publisher Northcliffe Media, is to close its final salary pension scheme to new members from October.

The final salary scheme operates mainly for employees in the company’s newspaper businesses.

Employees who are already within the scheme will remain within it, but future benefits will be capped in line with inflation.

New employees who join DMGT currrently have the option to join the scheme after five years, but this will no longer be available.

In a statement issued today the company said: “DMGT believes its pension arrangements remain generous and compare favourably with other media businesses.

“These changes have been prompted by future projections of increased life expectancy and other cost pressures.”