Monday, July 02, 2012

Co-op keeps DB pensions for 100,000 staff

Well done to the Co-op for keeping open its Career Average Defined Benefit Pension scheme for its 100,000 employees. 40,000 of whom are not members at the moment and are eligible for auto-enrolling. Gary Dewin, director of pensions for the group, said:“The scheme is a fantastic recruitment and retention tool. We wanted to stand up and look like we were an employer of choice.”

The Co-op scheme is 96% funded and I think helps proves the lie that there is no future for DB schemes.

The retail sector seems to be taking a lead in providing decent pensions for its staff. I posted on Morrison’s "bucking the trend" on DB last week. While recently I went to a pension meeting and met a trustee from the John Lewis (Waitrose) DB scheme which is not only still open but also still non contributory to employees!


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well if these companies go bust, who is going to honour pension commitments?. You can't make promises you can't keep.

John Gray said...

The pension protection fund. Paid for by a levy on all existing funds. Overseen by the pension regulator who will have to be satisfied by these companies plans in the first place.