| MG Rover pension schemes under formal assessment |
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LONDON - The Pension Protection Fund has disclosed that it has begun the process of formally assessing MG Rover's two pension schemes on August 31. The government body, which was specifically set up to look at pension related issues said that it was assessing if MG Rover's schemes had enough amount to pay out the 6,000 employees or not. The Agency revealed that the process was tedious and could take up to two years to complete.
However, former Rover employees who have already retired or are on the verge of retirement would continue to receive their monthly pension. The MG Rover Group Pension scheme supports 6,000 employees who have not retired and 232 who have retired. The other scheme called as the MG Rover Group Senior Pension Scheme has 96 active members and four pensioners. Independent Trustee Services (ITS) said that the Rover employees would receive pensions in line with what was provided by the PPF.
The ITS acts as a trustee for the Rover schemes. "We are delighted that we have been able to confirm to members that the schemes have now entered a PPF assessment period. For the majority of the members, the PPF will provide benefits at a significantly higher level than the schemes could afford based on their funding positions," said Chris Martin, managing director of ITS.
The PPF was set up in April to provide a safety net to those employees who lose out on pensions when their employer declares insolvency. It had not been able to assess MG Rover's schemes due to the fact that all companies involved in the schemes had not declared insolvency. Some had paid out their contributions and had withdrawn from the schemes. The last company to do so was Phoenix Venture Holdings. It paid up its contribution amounting to £1.7 million in August. “They’ve done their bit and we cannot legally compel them to pay any more,” said Martin.
Posted
on : Wed, 14 Sep 2005 21:05 GMT | Pensions News
By : Mark Richardson
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