The future of final salary pensions in the UK could lie in the hands of just a few schemes, a new study has claimed.

The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has published the findings of a new report which shows that just over three per cent of all final salary schemes, around 200 all together, account for nearly two thirds (65 per cent) of all active members.

In its report, called the 'Changing landscape of pension schemes in the private sector in the UK', the PPI also forecast that private sector membership of final salary schemes will fall from around 1.6 million in 2011 to just under a million by 2020 as many employers opt to ditch them in favour of more cost-effective schemes.

Figures show that firms have been looking to improve funding for final salary schemes in recent years, with employers' special contributions to defined benefit schemes rising from £11.9 billion in 2007 to £16 billion in 2011.

One potential further strain on final salary scheme funding is proposed EU regulations known as the Solvency II requirements, which would result in pension providers having to hold more cash reserves as the EU looks to make funds more resilient.