West Bromwich to close final salary pension scheme

by Gill Montia

Story link: West Bromwich to close final salary pension scheme

West Bromwich Building Society is reported to be closing its final-salary pension scheme.

The lender was pulled back from the brink of collapse last month by striking an agreement with its debt-holders in the form of a debt-for-equity swap.

It is understood that proposals aimed at saving West Bromwich around £800,000 a year involve moving 250 employees from a final-salary scheme that is already closed to new members to a defined contribution scheme.

The news comes within days of American Express announcing that it is suspending employer pension contributions for up to 18 months and Barclays revealing plans to close its UK final-salary pension scheme to around 18,000 existing members.

In the case of Barclays, a ballot on industrial action is planned for August.

West Bromwich is the UK’s eighth-largest building society, with approximately 350,000 customers. It employs around 850 staff across 46 branches.