American Express has 'temporarily halted' its pension contributions for 18 months.

Until the halt, Amex paid 3% into its stakeholder pension schemes, matching employee contributions up to 6%. The firm employs 6,000 members of staff in the UK.

A spokesman from American Express UK said: "Following a period of consultation with employee representatives and employees, we have taken the decision to temporarily suspend company contributions to UK pension plans. This took effect from 1 July 2009 and the suspension of contributions will be lifted no later than 1 January 2011.  

"We will continue to keep employees informed regarding whether we will be able to lift the suspension before this date."