UK. Tata Steel Set to Offload £15 Billion Pension Fund
Global steel producer Tata Steel is poised to offload its £15 billion ($19,5 billion) British Steel retirement fund to the U.K.’s Pension Protection Fund, with a formal announcement expected on Friday, according to a trade union spokesman.
The news follows the company’s confirmation in March that it would close its existing defined benefit scheme. Since April 1, British Steel has been offering employees a defined contribution scheme in its place. The British Steel Pension Fund has around 13,000 members.
In its quarterly earning announcement on Monday, Tata Steel confirmed that discussions between the pension’s trustees, the Pensions Regulator, and the PPF were at an “advanced” stage. (The Pensions Regulator regulates pensions schemes in the U.K. and the PPF in the U.K.’s pension lifeboat fund, which compensates eligible employees when an employer can no longer pay out benefits.)
A spokesman for Community, a trade union representing steelworkers in the U.K., said he is anticipating an announcement from the company on Friday.
Read full news here: Institutional Investor
