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Notification of Deaths

Notification of Deaths

It is with regret that the Funds’ Office reports the deaths of the following members who were in receipt of pensions from the ITB Pension Funds

Notification of deaths will normally remain on this Notice Board for three months.

NAMEDATE OF DEATHPENSIONER TYPEEMPLOYERDATE RECEIVED CERTIFICATE
Sylvia Mackay31/03/2025Pensioner (Spouse)Chemical & Allied Products ITBNot received
William Le Vesconte22/02/2025PensionerCotton & Allied Textiles ITB08/04/2025
Michael Feneley16/03/2025PensionerCITB26/03/2025
Brian McCarthy14/03/2025PensionerEnginuity02/04/2025
Jennifer Murray04/03/2025Pensioner (Spouse)Engineering ITBNot received
Barbara Thomas01/03/2025Pensioner (Spouse)Distributive ITB10/03/2025
Winifred Hogg24/02/2025Pensioner (Spouse)CITB19/03/2025
Christine Turner24/02/2025PensionerEngineering ITB27/03/2025
Jean Gulliver22/02/2025PensionerRTITB Services Ltd04/03/2025
Brenda Baker18/02/2025Pensioner (Spouse)CITB04/03/2025
Michael Joy16/02/2025PensionerChemical & Allied Products ITB10/03/2025
John Lelean15/02/2025PensionerPrinting & Publishing ITB24/03/2025
Georgina Bill11/02/2025PensionerCITB25/02/25
Cecily Extence09/02/2025Pensioner (Spouse)CITB07/04/2025
Gerald Appleyard06/02/2025PensionerAgricultural ITB06/03/2025
Marie Merchant03/02/2025Pensioner (Spouse)CITB03/03/2025
Beryl Roadnight01/02/2025PensionerCITB11/01/2025
David Hill30/01/2025PensionerAgricultural ITBNot received
Yvonne Gray27/01/2025Pensioner (Spouse)CITB07/02/2025
Jeffrey Priestley27/01/2025PensionerEngineering ITB17/02/2025
Avtar Bhurji26/01/2025PensionerCITB14/02/2025
Audrey Bocking26/01/2025Pensioner (Spouse)CITB10/02/2025
Noel Bain26/01/2025PensionerDistributive ITB11/02/2025
Madeline McGill22/01/2025PensionerAir Transport & Travel ITB28/03/2025
Barry Estabrook20/01/2025PensionerCITB10/02/2025
Wenda Moon20/0/2025Pensioner (Spouse)Engineering ITB26/02/2025
George Boultbee17/02/2025PensionerCITB29/01/2025
Shelagh Guest17/01/2025PensionerEnginuity27/01/2025
John Newcombe16/01/2025PensionerChemical & Allied Products ITB20/01/2025
Catherine Edgar14/01/2025Pensioner (Spouse)Footwear, Leather & Fur Skin Ltd22/01/2025
Tony Ashby13/01/2025PensionerEngineering ITB28/01/2025
David Small13/01/2025PensionerPlastics ITB28/01/2025
Sushila Kotak13/01/2025Pensioner (Spouse)Road Transport ITB06/02/2025
Ann Berriman09/01/2025Pensioner (Spouse)Cotton & Allied Textiles ITB14/02/2025
Joyce Malin09/01/2025Pensioner (Spouse)Engineering ITB20/01/2025
James George08/01/2025PensionerIron & Steel ITB17/01/2025
Jaqueline Foster04/01/2025PensionerPaper & Paper Products ITB05/02/2025
Dorothy Le Sueur03/01/2025PensionerPeople 1st13/02/2025
Alison Payne03/01/2025PensionerRGIT Montrose Ltd14/01/2025
Bryan Mills03/01/2025PensionerRTITB Services Ltd10/01/2025
Kenneth Nixon30/12/2024PensionerAir Transport & Travel ITB10/01/2025
David Girdler28/12/2024PensionerPlastics ITB17/01/2025
John Tierney26/12/2024PensionerCITB13/02/2025
Trevor Humphreys25/12/2024PensionerCITB22/01/2025
Mary Howcroft24/12/2024PensionerCITB03/03/2025
James Everitt23/12/2024PensionerCITB20/01/2025
Kenneth Batty23/12/2024PensionerCAPITB14/01/2025
Ann Smith23/12/2024Pensioner (Spouse)Food, Drink & Tobacco ITB03/01/2025
Josephine Coleman18/12/2024Pensioner (Spouse)Engineering ITB18/12/2024
Gillian Smith16/12/2024PensionerEAL03/01/2025
Elizabeth Fergus13/12/2024Pensioner (Spouse)CITBNot received
John Radcliff13/12/2024PensionerCITB22/01/2025
David Phoenix13/12/2024PensionerJTL07/01/2025
Elis Jones13/12/2024PensionerEngineering Training Authority06/01/2025
John Gilchrist12/12/2024PensionerCITB13/01/2025
Shirley Smart10/12/2024Pensioner (Sposue)CITB26/12/2024
Rita Thomson08/12/2024PensionerOffshore Petroleum ITB15/01/2025
Dennis Fearn07/12/2024PensionerPlastics ITB28/01/2025
Alan Hubbard07/12/2024Pensioner (Spouse)Food, Drink & Tobacco ITB17/12/2024
Barbara Wolstencroft06/12/2024Pensioner (Spouse)Engineering Construction ITBNot received
Cheryl Allen06/12/2024PensionerEngineering ITB03/01/2025
Stephen Butler05/12/2024PensionerRTITB Services Ltd24/01/2025
Thomas Neill03/12/2024PensionerRoad Transport ITB20/01/2025
Pauline Witty01/12/2024PensionerCITB10/12/2024
Christine Mennie10/11/2024Pensioner (Spouse)Printing & Publishing ITB05/01/2025
Roger White29/10/2024PensionerCITB13/03/2025
Muriel Henderson22/12/2023Pensioner (Spouse)Road Transport ITB09/01/2025
Catherine Stewart23/06/2022Pensioner (Spouse)Cotton & Allied Textiles ITB07/01/2025

The Funds' Office can now confirm that Mr Peter Austin won the ballot for the Open Fund Pensioner Trustee position and is therefore appointed with effect from 1 April 2025, for a period of three years.

As the Trustee of the Open Fund, one of our main responsibilities is ensuring the security of the benefits payable to Open Fund members and their dependants.  We have taken steps over recent years to greatly improve this security by investing in four “buy-in” policies.  On 21 July 2023 an agreement was reached with the insurance company Just Group for a further buy-in policy to secure members’ benefits.  Following this latest buy-in policy all the benefits payable from the Open Fund have now been insured.

To secure this buy-in policy, the Trustee has paid a premium in exchange for Just paying amounts to the Open Fund that match the benefits payable from the Fund, including any benefits which might be payable to your dependants and other beneficiaries on death.  Securing benefits in this way reduces the risk that the Open Fund is adversely affected by movements in investment markets or other external factors beyond the Trustee’s control.

Securing the Fund’s benefits with a regulated insurer such as Just Group is very much viewed as the gold standard for UK pension schemes.  It removes the reliance we have on the participating employers to support the Open Fund if it was to get into financial difficulties due to the factors mentioned above.  The financial strength of Just Group was a key consideration for the Trustee in choosing it as the insurer.  

The Funds' Office is now able to announce that Mr Maurice Alston was the only nomination received for the Closed Fund Pensioner Trustee position and is therefore appointed with effect from 4 April 2023, for a period of three years.

You will no doubt have seen and heard the headlines about the problems the current market volatility is causing pension schemes.  This is primarily about pension schemes that have liability driven investment (LDI) strategies to help stabilise the overall funding level, that use derivatives (also called swaps) extensively.  Swaps are used by schemes to achieve higher levels of interest rate and inflation hedging than they can achieve with the assets they have available – i.e. they are using leverage.  Thankfully, in 2018 following the latest buy-in, the Open Fund achieved a position whereby it had enough physical assets to run the Fund’s LDI strategy almost entirely using government bonds and almost all the swaps held at that time were sold.  A small number of Limited Price Index swaps were kept as they are very good value and match some of our pension liability cashflows very well – however they only account for about 5% of the LDI portfolio.  As the LDI portfolio is almost entirely government bonds there is very little need to provide cash collateral for swaps, therefore the short-term liquidity issues about selling government bonds and other assets to provide collateral being reported in the press do not apply to the Open Fund.  There is an explanation for the need to provide collateral below.  The Trustees will be monitoring this position very closely to see if any action is necessary, but at the moment it is well managed.  As the Closed Fund is entirely insured, the current market volatility has no impact for that Fund.  

Background about swaps and collateral

A swap is a contract between two counterparties over many years, although it can be traded at any time.  There are swaps that are linked to interest rates and swaps linked to inflation (e.g. RPI) and the principles about how they work are the same.  Under an interest rate swap one counterparty is contractually obliged to deliver value based on a fixed interest rate, whereas the other must deliver value based on a floating interest rate – these are referred to as two “legs”.  As interest rates change the floating leg changes in value and the contract takes on a value reflecting the difference between the fixed and floating legs.  As a risk management measure, there is a contractual obligation for the counterparties to set aside collateral on a daily basis, in the form of cash, for the value of the swap when it is negative on their side to reassure the other counterparty that they are good for the value owed if for any reason the counterparty could not otherwise meet its obligation – e.g. went bust.  Swaps are valued daily, and collateral calls are also made daily, so that the collateral amount is always sufficient to match the value of the swap.  Now that floating rates are going higher than many of the fixed rates set out in the contracts, pension schemes are having to sell assets to provide cash collateral to match the value they must deliver under the contract, and this is a daily exercise.  One of the main assets that provides daily liquidity is government bonds – hence the large sell-off of government bonds by pension schemes even though their value is falling, and that’s why the government has entered the market to buy them. 

The spread of COVID-19 has contributed to a significant fall in share prices which has meant, for many members, a reduction in the value of your pension pot.  This can be worrying but needs to be seen in the context of long-term returns.  It’s to be expected that the value of individual pension pots will go up and down from time to time and it’s important to take a long-term view.  The ITB Pension Funds lifestyle options aim to protect members pots from falls in share prices to a certain extent, by switching assets to less risky investments as each member comes closer to retirement.  See the latest DC Section Newsletter for details of how the lifestyle options’ assets are allocated.    

For comprehensive information about what DC Section members should consider when assessing their pension pots in the light of the impact of COVID-19 see L&G, the DC Section investment manager’s website at https://www.legalandgeneral.com/workplace/campaigns/covid-19/.

Dear Members,

The Government advice to individuals and organisations on COVID-19 / Coronavirus continues to develop in line with circumstances.

The ITB Pension Funds is following Government advice and has taken steps to safeguard the health of the Trustees and the Watford Funds’ Office staff in line with this advice. This involves staff working from home and some changes to normal routines. In addition, some Trustee meetings and events have had to be cancelled. 

While the current crisis has caused some disruption to normal operations, the Trustees and Funds’ Office staff are putting in place arrangements to maintain an appropriate level of service to employers and members. This includes ensuring the regular payment of pensions and other benefits paid by the Watford Funds Office.

DC Section members should be aware that we have recently been advised by L&G, who provide investment and administration services, that the measures they have taken to protect staff from the Coronavirus pandemic means that they are currently only able to offer a reduced service. This means there may be a delay responding to your requests and they may not be available to answer calls. L&G apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you have any immediate questions or require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us preferably by email on pensions@itbpen.com.

It has been confirmed that The ITB Pension Funds has been authorised as a Master Trust by the Pensions Regulator.

Achieving authorisation has provided credible external reassurance on the quality of many aspects of the Funds’ governance arrangements.

The Statements of Investment Principles and Chairman’s Statement, which is included in the Report & Accounts, are available on this website – follow Useful Links from the home page then look in the Library.

Members may have seen reports of the recent Lloyds Bank case.  The court ruled that pension schemes will have to increase benefits for certain members, so as to eliminate inequalities between men and women attributable to guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs).  This process is called “GMP equalisation”.

The GMP is a slice of benefit which schemes must by law provide, if (as was the case with the Funds) they were “contracted out” of the old State earnings-related pension scheme.

The Lloyds Bank ruling may affect you if you were in pensionable service between May 1990 and April 1997 – we refer to people in this category as “1990-97 members”.  Based on the ruling, the Funds will need to carry out a GMP equalisation exercise for 1990-97 members.  This is likely to mean that some, but not all, 1990-97 members will see a small increase in their benefits.  No members will see a reduction.

Like many other pension schemes around the UK, the Funds are now working with their advisers to determine how they will carry out GMP equalisation.  The process is complex and may be affected by future developments – for example, further court proceedings (including any appeal of the Lloyds Bank ruling) or guidance or legislation from the Government.  Accordingly it is likely be several months at least before we are in a position to start. 

There is no need for any member to take action as a result of the Lloyds Bank ruling.  Any 1990-97 members who are entitled to an increase in benefits will be notified in due course, although as we say this could take several months; please check the website for updates.  If you were not in pensionable service between May 1990 and April 1997, then you are not affected.

With effect from 25 May 2018 the European General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) will come into force. It will implement a number of significant changes in relation to the way personal data is held and processed.

The Trustees of The ITB Pension Funds have reviewed and updated their Data Privacy Statement and a copy is shown on our website.

Please do read the statement as it contains important information, although you do not have to take any direct action in relation to it.

Should you have any queries or require further information please do not hesitate to contact us either by post to 23 King Street or via e-mail to pensions@itbpen.com. 

With effect from 26 March 2018 People 1st were no longer an active Employer in the ITB Pension Funds.

As from that date all previous active members employed by People 1st became deferred members of the Fund and were no longer covered for active member death in service benefits.

Any People 1st employees who require information regarding their ITB pension benefits should contact the ITB Pension Fund office by email – pensions@itbpen.com.

For the latest summary funding position based on the latest actuarial valuation please see the ‘Library’ section of this website. The Summary Funding Statement sets out how the Scheme’s funding position has changed since the last full actuarial valuation.

You may have seen press coverage of the radical changes announced in the 2014 Budget.  The implications of these changes are still being considered by the Trustees, but individual members may want to consider if their plans may be affected.

The link below is purely for information purposes and is to a copy of a summary of the changes produced by The Government Actuary's Department https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2014-a-gad-technical-bulletin.