Johnston Press: Pensions

(asked on 20th November 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,what the Pension Protection Fund has determined the value of Johnston Press pension deficit to be.


Answered by
Guy Opperman Portrait
Guy Opperman
This question was answered on 23rd November 2018

The Johnston Press Pension Plan is currently in the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) assessment period, where it will be assessed whether the scheme’s funding level is sufficient to secure pensions to its members at least equal to the level of compensation the PPF would pay. If the scheme’s funding is not sufficient, then it will transfer into the PPF and compensation will be paid at 100 per cent for individuals over their scheme’s retirement age at the date of the insolvency, and 90 per cent of the member’s accrued benefits, subject to an overall cap for everyone else. Benefits accrued post 1997 will be linked to PPF indexation going forward.

There are around 5,000 pension scheme members who will be affected.

The Pensions Regulator and the PPF are working together with the administrators to understand the circumstances surrounding the sale and its implications for the Johnston Press Pension Plan.

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