Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lesley Laird (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 November 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 November 2018 (named day). It was answered by Guy Opperman (Conservative) on Monday, 26 November 2018 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Johnston Press: Pensions

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information she holds on the (a) number of past and present employees of Johnston Press who will be affected by its decision to transfer its pension scheme to the Pension Protection Fund and (b) potential proportionate change in the value of the pensions of those employees.

Answer

The Johnston Press Pension Plan is currently in the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) assessment period, where it will be assessed whether the scheme’s funding level is sufficient to secure pensions to its members at least equal to the level of compensation the PPF would pay. If the scheme’s funding is not sufficient, then it will transfer into the PPF and compensation will be paid at 100 per cent for individuals over their scheme’s retirement age at the date of the insolvency, and 90 per cent of the member’s accrued benefits, subject to an overall cap for everyone else. Benefits accrued post 1997 will be linked to PPF indexation going forward.

There are around 5,000 pension scheme members who will be affected.

The Pensions Regulator and the PPF are working together with the administrators to understand the circumstances surrounding the sale and its implications for the Johnston Press Pension Plan.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
193592
Session
2017-19
Grouped for answer
Yes
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Pensions Staff Pension Protection Fund Johnston Press
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk