The RSPB has closed its pension scheme to future accruals, having closed it some time ago to new members, its accounts show.
According to accounts filed for the period to March 2017, the scheme has a deficit of £90m – approximately eight months’ income for the charity. This is one of the highest deficits among major charities.
The scheme, which closed in March last year, was a defined benefit scheme, where the charity guarantees a certain income to retirees.
The charity will continue to pay into a defined contribution scheme, in which it makes payments but does not guarantee a certain level of income.
“The pension liability continues to fluctuate,” the charity said. “In 2015 it stood at £86m and despite a fall in 2016 it has increased to £90m in 2017. This is largely driven by factors outside our control.
“On 31 March 2017, the defined benefit pension scheme was closed and staff were transferred to a defined contribution scheme. This should help to reduce future risk and the volatility of pension liabilities.”
The charity has guaranteed that if it cannot meet its obligations under the scheme, it will transfer land worth £57m to the pension scheme.
Record income and membership
The RSPB has also reported record levels of income and membership.
The wildlife charity said it had topped £140m of income, including £6.7m of investment gains, up from £137.4m the previous year. Without those investment gains, income was down slightly.
Membership rose from 1.19 million people to 1.22 million.
The charity said that despite a record year, it faced challenges for the future. It said that leaving the EU would make it harder to raise money, as would the implementation of GDPR.
The charity said it had decided to communicate with all members in the future only if they had explicitly opted in.
