GERMANY - IBM Germany will have to pay €90m to the pension insolvency insurance vehicle Pensions-Sicherungs-Verein (PSV) after a verdict passed by the administrative court in Stuttgart.
The court dismissed lawsuits by IBM Deutschland, IBM Research and IBM Management against the PSV, challenging its calculation of the company's 2009 levy of €90m in total.
An IBM spokesperson confirmed to IPE that the company had "taken notice" of the ruling and that it would decide on its next course of action once it had looked into the decision in more detail.
After the financial crisis, the PSV, which takes on the pension liabilities of insolvent companies, had increased the levy to an all-time high of 1.4% following 700 insolvencies, including that of retail giant Arcando.
According to the court, the PSV's calculation was legal, but the court has allowed for its verdict to be repealed by the administrative court in Baden-Württemberg.
But IBM Germany, using its own calculations, said it would have to pay €50m less, IBM Research €5.5m less and IBM Management €4m less.
Last year, IBM founded a Pensionsfonds for which only a heavily reduced PSV levy had to be paid.
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