NFC pensions under scrutiny
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by Karen Miles • NFC's pension scheme is to be scrutinised by the pensions ombudsman following accusations from a former employee that the company has been acting unfairly against employees and pensioners.
If the ombudsman finds against NFC it could force the company to improve its pension benefits or to install a contributions "holiday" for its employees.
Former manager Harold Clark says NFC has failed to act in the best interest of the scheme's pensioners since it amalgamated its three pension funds in 1992. The inquiry could take over a year. The £960 million scheme has a £263m surplus and the company has taken a contributions holiday for nearly eight years. Around 17,000 staff have continued to pay into the scheme which supports 25,000 pensioners.
Clark is backed by the RMT transport union, whose general secretary Jimmy Knapp this week accused NFC of "corporate greed".
He says: "By its actions the company is clearly placing its own interests ahead of those of the fund and its members. Scheme members and pensioners are quite rightly incensed at the company's attitude." NFC this week refused to comment, saying it had received no notification from the ombudsman. Clark's move to take his case to the investigator follows the voicing of general complaints at a fund meeting in October. One pensioner said he had left NFC in 1982 after 32 years and that he received only £104.15 every four weeks.