The TUC has attacked Britain's bosses for keeping their own lucrative pension plans while closing final salary schemes for their staff.

Publishing the first "PensionWatch" survey on Friday, union bosses said directors were "feathering their nests" while workers lost out on the more generous pension schemes.

The study of Britain's top 121 companies found that 70 per cent of directors still give themselves final salary pensions, while just 13.5 per cent are restricted to defined contributions (DC) schemes.

In 58 per cent of companies where a final salary scheme has closed to new staff, new directors are still allowed to join the boardroom final salary scheme.

The TUC report claims that directors are hypocritical about the arguments they use to close final salary schemes.

"One argument regularly used against maintaining defined benefit provision is that they do not suit people who move jobs more frequently as well as defined contribution schemes. It is well known that the average tenure of a chief executive is now around three years," it said.

"As such logically one would expect directors to be more likely to have DC plans than defined benefit schemes."

TUC chief Brendan Barber slammed bosses who were "tightening other people's belts, not their own".

"It is a straightforward case of boardroom hypocrisy, directors are feathering their own pensions nests," he said.

"And with pressure on unjustified top pay growing, the worry must be that money is being quietly transferred to generous pensions instead."