The High Court has recently made a decision on a case to do with ‘Guaranteed Minimum Pensions’ (GMPs), which was brought to the court by the trustee of certain Lloyds Bank pension schemes.
The judgment relates to pension schemes, like the M&S Pension Scheme, who have members whose pension includes a GMP. It confirms that such schemes will need to provide equal benefits for men and women for pensionable service between 17 May 1990 and 6 April 1997. This is known as equalising GMP.
The Trustee has been monitoring the court case and is now reviewing with its advisers the details of this judgment and whether it will impact any members’ pensions in the Scheme.
As the calculations for GMPs are very complicated and it is not yet known whether the judgment will be appealed, it will take some time before the Trustee can let members know if this impacts anyone.
Any members whose pensions are affected are unlikely to see a large change to their pension. The Trustee can also tell you that the cost of any changes that may need to be made are unlikely to have a major impact on the financial health of the Scheme.
This announcement is separate to any other communication that you may receive about your Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) from either the Trustee or the Government’s tax authorities (HMRC).