Royal Mail is facing two-weeks of strikes

Royal Mail staff would have to work for five more years before collecting their retirement pay, according to a company document published in the Daily Mirror.

But Royal Mail said the document was "out of date" and no decision on pension provision had yet been taken.

The report comes on the eve of a two-week campaign of staggered strike action across the UK postal service.

"Royal Mail said very clearly earlier this year that it would be consulting on the future of the pension scheme for both new recruits and existing members," a company spokesman said.

"But no decisions have yet been taken as we have not even begun the formal consultation."

Bitter feud

The plans published in the Mirror to plug the company's �6bn pension deficit included closing its final-salary scheme to new joiners from next year - a move that would echo the actions of many large UK employers.

Existing workers would also be affected, with the age at which staff can retire pushed up from 60 to 62 next year and to 65 from 2010. In addition, lump sum one-off payments would be trimmed.

But Royal Mail insisted the package of proposals had not been put into consultation "because of further input from and discussions with the unions".

The Royal Mail's relationship with the main postal workers' union Communication Workers Union (CWU) is already fragile amid a continuing feud over pay and the group's modernisation plans.

Postal workers walked out in two separate 24-hour strikes last month - the first industrial action at the Royal Mail for more than a decade following a break down in negotiations.