Section A
News feed
BT Pension Scheme to sell majority stake in Hermes
13
Apr
2018
Federated Investors, Inc. to Acquire Majority Interest in London-based integrated ESG Manager Hermes Investment Management from BT Pension Scheme.
Section C Court Case: Appeal
09
Apr
2018
Further to our update in February, BT was granted permission to appeal the High Court judgment to the Court of Appeal.
Closure of the BT Pension Scheme
19
Mar
2018
BT has announced the closure of Section B and C of the Scheme to future accrual in early summer 2018, having reached an agreement with the Communication Workers Union and Prospect.
2018 Trustee Newsletter now available
20
Feb
2018
The 2018 Trustee newsletter is now available and can be found on the Useful documents page. Members will receive a copy in the post over the next few weeks.
2014 Court of Appeal decision
Members will be aware, on privatisation of BT in 1984, the Government provided a guarantee to the BT Pension Scheme. The Court of Appeal decision given on 14 July 2014 clarified that the ‘Crown Guarantee’ (as it has come to be known) is only relevant on a winding up of BT plc and, in such circumstances, would cover BT plc’s obligations under the Trust Deed to ensure the Scheme has sufficient funds to pay the accrued benefits (other than some exclusions in relation to certain aspects of the Scheme’s liabilities). It is important to stress that the Crown Guarantee does not cover the liabilities of the Scheme itself and/or the benefits of individual members. Rather it relates only to the obligations of BT plc to the Scheme as a whole and consequently, the Crown Guarantee only remains in place for as long as, and to the extent that, BT plc itself continues to have the obligation to support the Scheme.
The Crown Guarantee is, without doubt, a significant protection for members of the Scheme in the event of the winding up of BT plc, and the clarity provided in the Court of Appeal judgement is helpful in understanding the scope, effectiveness and applicability of the Guarantee.