Keeping you informed

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Newsletter 12 - 13 August

Up to a billion dollars of funds are being transferred out of the C-plan reserves. This will not improve the benefits of IBM pension plan members. However, it will improve the balance sheets of IBM US.
(Note: To date £42.7M have already been transferred)

Not legal?
IBM would never do that?
Is IBM UK's policy on pensions in payment the worst of all companies surveyed?

To find the answers read on....

Then judge for yourself - do you still have trust and confidence that IBM aims to compete favourably with the practice of other leading companies on pensions, as you were told it would before you retired?

The IBM C-Planners' Group was formed to address concerns on how IBM is managing the pensions of IBM employees in the UK.

We provide this web site as a comprehensive source of information, for those who wish to know more.

IBM has used the surplus derived from the C-Plan(*) to fund the M-Plan instead of using it to benefit those members, who in past years have contributed a proportion of their own salary to this fund.

* Note: Throughout this site we are using the term 'C-Plan' to refer to all the defined benefit pension plans currently and formerly provided by IBM (for example, N,E,A,B,Q & T Plans).

Explore these pages to:

• Read the latest and previous News
• Understand the Situation
• Learn about our Aims and Strategy
• Study the Complaints
• Read the Correspondence
• Note the Position
• See The View from Westminster
• Obtain more Information
• Checkout the FAQs Frequently Asked Questions)
• See what other Trusts are doing
• Find out how you can Help

Use the Message Board to publicise your ideas and thoughts.

The Position

IBM claims that the C-Plan and the M-Plan are a single fund with two sections. We believe because the two plans:

1. serve different sets of members
2. the contributions are different
3. the benefits are different
4. they operate under a different set of rules
5. they have different expenses

IBM has used the surplus from the C-Plan to fund the M-Plan instead of using it to benefit those members, who in past years contributed a proportion of their own salary.

IBM has not informed members regarding its intentions. For example, the Trust Deed governing the C-Plan was amended on 24th February 2000 without the knowledge of C-Plan members.

See The Situation for more detail.

Our Objectives

1. Stop the C-Plan surplus being used to fund other pension funds/sections.
2. Ensure surplus is used for the benefit of the members who contributed and not the company or others.
3. Ensure any surplus is used for regular annual increases to pension instead of paternalistic and irregular "at trustees' discretion" increases.
4. A retrospective payment to pensioners to bring past increases up to a level equivalent to an annual RPI increase over the affected period.

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Disclaimer

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