Is your company pension scheme safe?
It has been revealed this weekend that a growing number of UK companies are reducing their contributions to staff pension funds in order to retain as much money on deposit as possible in these troubled times. This is a very tricky situation and one which is set to get more complicated as the recession rolls on. So is your pension at risk if your employer decides to reduce pension contributions?
While the terms of a company pension scheme cannot be revised without the agreement of the pension trustees, who represent the pension members, there is a trend beginning to emerge America. The trend involves employer and employee discussions regarding pension schemes and the need to retain as much cash on deposit as possible to guide many businesses through the ongoing recession. A number of well-known US companies have already been successful in their discussions with employees and pension scheme trustees and many companies are already benefiting from reduced contributions.
The idea is that the short-term reduction in contributions will ensure the future of the company and their employees with the intention to return pension fund contributions to former levels in the future. A number of pension fund advisers in the UK have suggested that this trend is starting to appear in this country and will become more common the longer the recession continues.
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