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Pensions decision made, but consultation continues

Finance | Lucy Harvey | 19 Aug 2009

A consultation currently being held to determine the future of Help the Aged’s pension scheme has been labelled a “sham” as the decision to close the scheme has already been taken.

The charity, which merged with Age Concern, is still officially saying a consultation period is underway, and will end by 1 October.

On April 1, the day of the merger, at a meeting with all staff, the new director of performance and people Julian Aviss (pictured) gave a powerpoint presentation stating that the new combined entity wanted "motivated staff with good pension provision".

But the day after  – on April 2 – Aviss sent a letter to staff confirming the Help the Aged pension benefit scheme would close.

This week he confirmed the position, telling Charity News Alert: “We sincerely regret having to close the pension scheme, but the deficits involved are no longer sustainable for the charity to manage.  The former Age Concern pension scheme deficit also ran to a significant deficit – that too had to be closed.”

According to latest accounts Help the Aged has a £6m pension deficit, and Age Concern £13m.

A Help the Aged website page dedicated to pensions states that: “ensuring the UK pensions system meets the needs of both today’s pensioners and those of tomorrow is a key concern for Help the Aged”.

A former employee said: “It’s a sham. For a charity that fights for pension provision, to behave in this way is extraordinary.”

The situation echoes that of the commercial world. Research out this week from consultants Watson Wyatt estimated that half of British companies will close their defined benefit pension schemes to existing members within three years.

Restructure and redundancies

Since the charities merged in April, major restructuring has been taking place at the organisation, currently known as Age UK.

Officially, the charity says it expects 305 redundancies – 80 of them compulsory – although in the same letter from April detailing the pensions scheme closure, Aviss warned those figures could rise.

Final figures are expected in mid-to-late September.

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Directory: Age Concern | Help the Aged