Royal Mail may axe pension plan

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Mail said on Sunday it could become the latest company to close its final salary pension plan if plans to part-privatise the group fail.

"Closing the final salary pension scheme is not something we would want to consider but might have to as one of the possible consequences of the Government deciding not to go ahead with their plans, including their proposal to take responsibility for the historic pension deficit," a spokesman said.

The pension fund deficit could be more than 10 billion pounds when a review is published in the summer, the Sunday Times reported.

On June 1, Dutch mail company TNT said it had not yet made a bid for Royal Mail, but said it was interested in the company.

The Sunday Telegraph previously reported private equity group CVC Partners offered to pay just under 2 billion pounds for a 30 percent stake in state-owned Royal Mail.

A proposed law to sell a minority stake in Royal Mail is going before lawmakers this month and is expected to face stiff opposition.

(Reporting by Julie Crust; editing by Diane Craft)