Ryanair has announced that it plans to close one of its staff pension funds. The €12.5 million deal will see the airline fully covering the scheme’s deficit.  The company has said that it will wind up its defined-benefit pension scheme after agreeing with the trustees to fully fund its €9.7 million deficit and pay a top-up of €2.8 million.

Only 121 of Ryanair’s 9,000 employees actually pay into the scheme that pays pensions tied to the employee’s final salary. The pension fund currently supports 20 pensioners has 200 deferred members who no longer work for the company but have yet to retire and begin collecting their pensions.

The way the deal works means that the members can transfer their benefits to the company’s defined-contribution plan. Ryanair’s Chief financial officer Howard Millar said the company had eliminated pension liabilities from its balance sheet. He said “This is in marked contrast to many of our competitor airlines, whose pension schemes are running enormous deficits, in excess of hundreds of millions or billions.”