Doorstep lender Provident Financial has told staff to double contributions into the firm's final salary pension plan or leave the scheme.
More than 2,000 staff will see contributions rise from 7% to 14%.
The firm said it had taken the step to secure its long term finances and that workers were consulted on the change.
The move is a further blow to Provident's workforce. Recently, the firm closed its Yes Car Credit division with the loss of 820 jobs.
Black hole
Like many UK companies, Provident Financial is running a deficit on its final salary pension scheme.
By upping employee contributions and making extra payments Provident said it hoped to close the £133m black hole in its pension fund in 2006.
"We are taking decisive action to close the deficit and thereby secure the future of the final salary pension scheme," a Provident Financial spokesman said.
"The problem is that increased longevity makes the final salary schemes very expensive," he added.
Provident Financial's move leaves its workers paying well above the norm in pension contributions.
"Final salary schemes have traditionally been seen as the best type of pension a worker can get"
Generally, UK workers final salary pension contributions range between 4% and 8% of salary.
Provident workers who choose to stop contributing into the final salary scheme will have the option of joining a cash balance scheme instead.
Under this type of plan, the employee can expect to have the equivalent of 20% of their salary credited to their pension fund each year.
A quarter of this money will come from the employees, with the rest being funded by a combination of investment return and employer contributions.
Rentokil closure
Provident is amongst a growing number of firms to take radical action to tackle pension deficits.
On Monday, Rentokil Initial announced that it would close its final salary pension scheme to all employees.
The firm made the move, the first of its type by a FTSE 100 company, in a bid to rein in rising pension costs.
Some 3,000 active scheme members will have their accrued benefits guaranteed, but any future pension will have to be earned in a new, cheaper, scheme.
The move is likely to be watched closely by other firms.
Many companies have tried to control costs by closing final salary pension schemes to new employees in recent years.
About three-quarters of all final salary pension schemes in the private sector are now closed to new members, according to the Government Actuary's Department.
But very few employers have taken the step of evicting current members from their existing scheme and offering them a new one for future service.
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