UK – A dispute over the £1.2bn Kvaerner Pension Fund has been settled with a total payout of £101m (€145m) over six years from TH Global, the former Kvaerner Plc.
“In return for payments totaling £101m, TH Global and its subsidiaries will no longer be associated with the Kvaerner Pension Fund, which will continue as a standalone pension scheme,” the fund said. It will have around 14,000 pensioners and 17,000 deferred pensioners.
The fund will receive an initial lump sum of £20m this year followed by six further annual payments and a loan note payable by 2012.
“In addition to these contributions, a new investment strategy is being implemented,” the fund added. “The trustee, having taken professional actuarial and investment advice, expects that these two factors together will enable them to eliminate the pension fund’s deficit over time.”
The trustee aims to pay all benefits due “without having recourse to the Pension Protection Fund”. The statement added that the Pension Regulator has issued a clearance statement for the arrangements.
“The trustee and its advisors have been working hard in the past nine months to develop a new investment strategy and to reach an agreement that will help secure the future of the Kvaerner Pension Fund,” said trustee chairman Jan Froeshaug.
“This is a very positive result for all the members of the pension and the TH employees who will now be offered permanent employment with Aker Kvaerner,” said TH Global chief executive Leif Salomonsen.
IPE reported in August that Norwegian industrial holding group Kvaerner ASA had become embroiled in a row over its relationship to the fund, the UK pension plan of the former Trafalgar House.
At issue were claims about its transfer of UK pension obligations worth about NOK14bn (€1.7bn) – which Kvaerner takes issue with.
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