On the go: Thousands of steelworkers could receive a boost to their pensions after a £2bn buy-in was agreed, taking the scheme out of the Pension Protection Fund.
Insurance provider Pension Insurance Corporation agreed to a full buyout of the old British Steel Pension Scheme next year and to take on responsibility for more than 30,000 members.
The deal means all members’ benefits have now been secured at or above their current PPF levels of compensation with PIC, although the exact outcome for each member will not be known until the buyout occurs towards the end of 2021.
Until then the scheme will remain within its PPF assessment period and continue to be protected by the pensions lifeboat.
Jonathan Hazlett, managing director of Open Trustees, which runs the scheme, said: “Whilst the PPF provides a valuable safety net and a significant level of protection, many members will now receive higher benefits than they might otherwise have expected had the scheme entered the PPF.
“Old BSPS members can take comfort that their benefits will be looked after by an insurer, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, as well as being committed to the highest levels of customer service.”
The old BSPS entered the PPF in 2018 after former owner Tata Steel restricted its UK operations.
During the scheme’s PPF assessment period in March of that year it became apparent that it might be possible to buy out members’ benefits at or above PPF levels of compensation.
At the pensions lifeboat, non-pensioner members receive compensation based on 90 per cent of what their pension was worth at the time the employer became insolvent.
The PPF spent more than two years investigating the possibility of a buy out, and in April 2020 members were first informed about a deal, after the lifeboat scheme concluded it could “ultimately result in a better outcome for members than they might otherwise have been expecting”.
Uzma Nazir, head of origination structuring at PIC, said: “This is a significant transaction, guaranteeing the benefits of the more than 30,000 pension scheme members who have faced a long period of uncertainty about the level of their benefits, and providing many with an uplift over PPF levels.
“We are delighted to have been able to work so closely with the trustee and Barnett Waddingham and ultimately deliver what was required in the biggest and most significant transaction of the year.”
This article originally appeared on ftadviser.com
