BT is seeking changes to its final salary pension schemes, including raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 and basing benefits on the average salary earned before retirement rather than the final one.

BT confirmed that talks with its unions had been under way since May and said the moves were unrelated to the 19 per cent fall in its share price on Friday after the group warned that earnings would fall in 2008-09 because of problems at its division serving multinationals.