HALCROW PENSIONERS ASSOCIATION 

 Newsletter No 4 : March 2013

Contents (click on the blue headings for more details)

The 2013 HPA Annual General Meeting

HPA has been functioning for a year and, in accordance with HPA's constitution, an Annual General Meeting should take place. It is proposed that a virtual meeting will be held in April 2013 using a sub-forum of the HPA forum to which only paid-up members of HPA will be given access. This is your opportunity to contribute to the operation of HPA. Click on the heading for more details.

The proposed timescale for the annual general meeting is:

 The proposed agenda for the AGM is here.

Newsletter recipients are encouraged to attend the AGM and contribute to shaping the future for HPA. This will require (i) payment of an HPA membership subscription (if not already paid) and registration for the HPA forum.

Halcrow Financial Situation

The long-term sustainability of the Halcrow Pension Scheme is dependent on the financial health of Halcrow. The HPA regularly monitors the Companies House website for postings about Halcrow. The final 2011 accounts for Halcrow Group and Halcrow Holdings are still awaited.

2011 Accounts for the Halcrow International Partnership were deposited with Companies House in January 2013 and show that, for HIP, there was a net profit of £3,841,742 for the first seven months of 2011 but a net loss of £2,163,032 in the final five months of the year. One aspect that these accounts highlight is that the pension scheme for HIP (described as an "end of service benefit plan" is unfunded so payments have to be funded from current revenue.

As individuals we have limited voice, but collectively we stand a better chance of being heard and influencing future changes. In addition to forming a platform for talking to past colleagues, HPA provides, for the first time, a collective body to represent member's interests to the trustees. We need members, both to be able to demonstrate the numbers of people concerned about the welfare of the Halcrow Pension Scheme and also to raise a fund to meet legal or other costs. As a minimum please make sure you are on our mailing list.

We are relying on personal networks to spread the news of our existence. We remind all the recipients of this newsletter to spread the word by forwarding this email to anyone else whom you think may be a member (pensioner, deferred or contributing) of the Halcrow Pension Scheme. It is better that they receive multiple copies of this email than remain unaware of the HPA. We would also request people to update their details in our newsletter database (particularly those people for which we only have a Halcrow email address which are now being phased out). If you received this email directly then please use the link at the bottom of the email to access your details.

Thank you from the HPA committee.