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If we’ve confirmed to you that you have chosen to switch to the new British Steel Pension Scheme, then this page applies to you.
The new scheme will go ahead only if it is large enough and well enough funded. Our current figures indicate that members switching to the new scheme will represent around 80% of the current scheme’s assets and liabilities. So the new scheme is comfortably large enough. Assessments undertaken by the Scheme Actuary and agreed with Tata Steel UK indicate that the initial funding level test was also comfortably met as at 31 January 2018. This paves the way for the New British Steel Pension Scheme to go ahead on 28 March as planned. We’ll keep this page updated with the latest news about this.
Members are due to switch to the new scheme on 28 March 2018. You don’t need to do anything for this switch to take place. We are now working to get all the member information and scheme assets ready to switch members and assets to the new scheme, and to start the process of moving other members and assets into the Pension Protection Fund.
The new Trustee board will write to you after 28 March 2018 to give you more information about the new scheme.
If you’re already receiving your pension, you’ll keep getting your monthly pension as usual. We expect the new Trustee Board will write to you in March 2018 about your next pension increase.
The Trustee of the new scheme will be the same trustee company as the old scheme – B.S. Pension Fund Trustee Limited. However, some of the Trustee directors will be different.
The new scheme will be run by six Trustee directors. Two Trustee directors have been nominated by Tata Steel UK, as the sponsor of the scheme. Two Trustee directors have been chosen from the Member Nominated Trustee directors of the current scheme under transitional arrangements, and two are Independent Trustee directors.
The Trustee has made sure that the new scheme is ready to pay benefits for members who have switched to it. The Trustee has also made sure that suitable arrangements are in place for running the new scheme and for investing the assets that have been received from the old scheme.
Allan Johnston (Chairman)
Allan followed a career in the steel industry which culminated in him being an Executive Director of Corus Group Plc. Allan retired from this position in 2004, and until 2009, was HR Director for Avon and Somerset Constabulary. During this time he was the Association of Chief Police Officers’ spokesperson on pensions.
Allan has also served as Chairman of the Trustees of the City and Guilds pension scheme, and is non-executive chairman of UK Steel Enterprise Ltd.
Allan was originally appointed to the British Steel Pension Scheme Trustee board in 1994 and served as Trustee Chairman from 2007. Allan was also a member of the Investment Committee and the Valuation and Covenant Committee. Allan’s term of appointment runs until 31 March 2019.
Jo Regan
Jo is a Chartered Accountant, who has worked for Tata Steel UK and its predecessors since 1993. Jo is currently Accounting and Transactions Controller, UK. Jo was appointed to the British Steel Pension Scheme Trustee board in 2016. Jo’s term of appointment runs until 30 October 2020.
Shaun Corten
Shaun worked in the steel industry from 1974 until his retirement in 2009. He was a Member Nominated Trustee director of the British Steel Pension Scheme between 2002 and 2009. Shaun was again appointed to the Trustee board in 2013, this time as the Member Nominated Trustee director drawn from the ranks of former employee pensioners. He was also a member of the Investment Committee.
Shaun is also a non-executive director of the Gwent Hospitals Workmen’s and Contributory Fund.
Peter Rees
Peter has worked in the steel industry since 1979 and is based in Trostre Works.
Peter was appointed to the British Steel Pension Scheme Trustee board as a Member Nominated Trustee director in 2007. He was also a member of the Investment Committee and the Valuation and Covenant Committee.
Peter and Shaun were appointed as Member Nominated Trustee directors of the New British Steel Pension Scheme under the transitional arrangements put in place as part of the ‘Regulated Apportionment Arrangement’ (RAA). The RAA is the process that allowed the old scheme to start moving into the PPF. Peter and Shaun will remain in office until the first Member Nominated Trustee director selection process has been completed. We expect this to be early in 2019.
Catherine Claydon
Catherine has worked for over 30 years in the City, with most of her career at Goldman Sachs where she was a Managing Director in the Pensions Advisory Group. She is currently an Independent Director on the Barclays UK Retirement Fund, and Independent Member of the Unilever UK Pension Fund Investment Committee and was previously Deputy Chair of the BT Pension Fund. She is also a Non Executive Director of Witan Investment Trust and Dunedin Income Growth Investment Trust.
Catherine’s term of appointment runs until 31 December 2020.
Keith Greenfield
Keith is a Chartered Accountant, who spent the majority of his working life in the Financial Services industry. He acted as the Finance Director of Royal Sun Alliance’s Life business and then Managing Director when the business was transferred to Resolution plc. He has been a Final Salary DB pension Trustee for the Royal Insurance Group Pension Scheme for over 12 years, the last 10 as Chair of Trustees. He has also chaired the Pilkington Superannuation Scheme for the last 4 years. In addition he is an independent Trustee and Chair of the Investment committee of the Willis Pension Scheme.
Keith’s term of appointment runs until 30 June 2019.
The Pensions Office will continue to administer the old scheme until 28 March 2018. After that date, the Pensions Office will administer only the new scheme.
If you have a question, please check the Questions and Answers section of this website first. If the answer’s not there, you can contact the Pensions Office – details on the old scheme’s website. The Pensions Office is very busy working on the new arrangements, so please only call if it’s urgent.
Our Questions and Answers page has a section all about the new scheme. It also has other sections covering other questions members have asked us. Now that the deadline for choosing your option has passed, some of these questions are not relevant any more. But many of the others could still be useful, so we have left them all available to read.
Newsletters, videos and other information.
Your benefits under the current British Steel Pension Scheme are governed by its trust deed and rules. If you switch to the New British Steel Pension Scheme, your benefits will be governed by its trust deed and rules. If you move to the Pension Protection Fund, your benefits will be governed by the law that relates to the PPF. Your personal information pack and this website only summarise the main information about choosing your option.