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BT attempt to change pension indexation blocked by High Court
BT Group has been blocked by a High Court ruling from changing the rate of inflation used to calculate the pension deficit for many of its workers.
Last month the former telecoms monopoly applied to the High Court to change the index from the retail price index to the consumer price index to calculate future pension increases paid to members of section C of its pensions scheme. Section C of the BT Pension Scheme covers members who joined the scheme from 1 April 1986 to when it closed on 31 March 2001.
The High Court judgment on Friday was to deny this application. The 12-month rate of RPI was 4.1% in December, while CPI was 3.0%.
BT said: "We are disappointed with the decision and will now consider the judgment in detail in order to decide next steps, including the possibility of an appeal."
The FTSE 100 group, which noted that CPI was used as the relevant index for pension increases for members in Sections A and B of the BT Pension Scheme, also said work on the triennial valuation "is proceeding and constructive discussions continue with the BTPS trustee and we still expect to complete the valuation in the first half of the 2018 calendar year".
Following discussions between management and affected employees, BT said it was "considering their feedback before concluding the review".