Figures compiled by Watson Wyatt, a human resources consultancy showed that about one million people will have to satisfy with poor retirements as about half of the employers surveyed, have plans to withdraw final-salary schemes by 2012.

The would-be withdrawal of the schemes is signifying the shifting of the longer-serving workers to less generous defined contribution schemes.

28 percent of those employers, who will go on with final-salary schemes, will slash other benefits.

It may be noted here that most of the private-sector employers have already blocked final-salary schemes to the new workforce in the past 10-year period.

Blue-chip employers, IBM and Barclays have recently said that they would shift their workforce to cheaper schemes.

Chief of Watson Wyatt, Rash Bhabra said, "When employers are cutting jobs and freezing pay, pension arrangements will inevitably be put under the microscope."

Final-salary pensions are guaranteed and fetch 20-40 percent of base pay, much higher than a contribution of 5-15 percent of the base pay by the concerned employers under the inferior DC schemes.