Newsletter No. 16
HALCROW PENSIONERS ASSOCIATION
Newsletter No 16 : May 2016
You have been sent this newsletter because you may be a member of the Halcrow Pension Scheme. If you are not a member then please use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email to remove your name from the mailing list or email the webmaster at halcrowpensioners.org.uk to remove your name.
The 29 April 2016 Announcement to HPS Members
You should have all received a letter dated 29 April 2016 which contained disturbing news about the attempt to secretly obtain court approval to move all HPS members to a new pension scheme which would provide reduced benefits. If you have not received or have mislaid the letter then a copy is here. It is of concern that the court considered it acceptable that members not know of the proposal to transfer all to a new pension plan offering lower benefits. The proposal failed – the reason for this is represented as ‘because of a legal technicality’. In fact the relevant law is one which prevents a member’s rights being transferred without consent to a plan providing worse benefits. The reason for the secrecy was the threat by the company to go into Administration due to the financial demands of the pension schemes (principally HPS). However, as reported in Newsletter 13, this financial situation reached the public domain in January 2016 when the company accounts were released which removed the excuse for secrecy.
The 29 April letter referred to a Court Judgement and, to save you all from having to hunt for a link, a copy is here. It provides very interesting, although challenging, reading. Paragraph 135 includes the statement "Having considered that advice the Trustees concluded that they still wished to proceed with Project Gravity although there would be a higher number of members in HPS2 receiving benefits at around 100% of PPF compensation. There would still be a significant number of members who would be better off." It is unclear who would be better off but we believe it would be those staff whose pension entitlement will be sufficiently generous to be capped if paid by the PPF. The rest of the pensioners would likely receive minimal pension increases, possibly in line with the rate of inflation. The Judgement gives no hint that the documents and issues associated with the 2011 Court Hearing were set before the judge during the 2015 hearing. If HPS members are to be given pensions equivalent to PPF levels of compensation then it is preferable to join PPF which has greater security than the proposed HPS2.
Examination of the Court Judgement reveals the timeline: Paragraph 7 states: "This matter came before the Court in some haste as a result of CH2M’s indication that financial support sufficient to allow HGL’s accounts to be signed on an ongoing basis as at 30 September 2015 would not be provided if the Transaction were not approved. The Part 8 Claim was issued on 26 June 2015 and an order for an expedited trial and privacy amongst other things, was made by Hildyard J on 3 July 2015."
HPA's Position
HPA considers the proposed HPS2 to be unacceptable for reasons which are set out in detail in this document. Please study it carefully. HPA believes that CH2M Hill, wanting to relieve itself of a financial burden which it consciously inherited when acquiring Halcrow, is trying to project an image of rescuing HPS from the Pension Protection Fund while in reality, shedding much of the financial liability. The HPS trustees have been coerced into cooperating with the company's strategy by the threat of the employees of Halcrow Group Ltd becoming redundant due to that company being put into administration. There is also the wider issue that, if a court, with the knowledge of the Pensions Regulator, approved an involuntary transfer of HPS members to a scheme giving less favourable benefits then this could be an unwelcome precedent for the members of other defined benefit pension schemes which are in deficit.
Press Coverage
Pension schemes have already been in the public eye because of the news about Tata and BHS and the pensions press has been quick to report on the HPS court judgement. Copies of articles specifically discussing HPS are presented here and here (pdf files because direct links do not give access to the full articles) while there is relevant discussion in the context of other schemes here and here. Watch out for more news.
HPA Annual General Meeting
The annual general meeting was held in the HPA forum during April and a number of issues were discussed and voted on (full members of HPA can visit the forum and browse the meeting). The committee welcomed Edward Evans and Phil Johnson and after the AGM the committee elected Edward Evans as co-chair to provide additional support during this potentially challenging period. He brings some welcome trustee knowledge and experience as a former trustee of the Halcrow Staff Pension Scheme (the predecessor to HPS). The other officers are unchanged.
Please Spread the Word About HPA
Given the current interesting situation, HPA wants to reach out to as many members of HPS as possible. Please dredge through your individual memories and make all former colleagues who might have an interest in the Halcrow Pension Scheme aware of the current situation and of HPA's existence. Use the link at the bottom of the email newsletter to send a copy to anyone else. It is better that they get informed more than once rather than not at all. There may be a limited time available to react to the next development.
Previous Newsletters
If you haven't been with HPA from the start then you might be interested to browse through the previous newsletters. There is a full list here.