Great Britain: BMW looks to prune pensions for 5,000 staff

German automaker BMW, which also produces the Mini and Rolls Royce has announced plans to close its defined benefits pension plans. This will entail moving 5,000 current UK employees over to the less generous defined contribution scheme. Unions are digging in for a fight.
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The German automaker has set a target of June 2017 as the end date for fresh contributions to both of its existing defined benefits pension schemes. This is because the related costs and benefits “are making them increasingly unsustainable and unaffordable for both members and companies,” the company declared. BMW currently only operates two such defined benefits schemes in the UK. The biggest, called the ‘Old Rover scheme’ impacts 5,1713 current staff members, 17,099 former employees not yet r

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