The BP Pensioner Group, representing 2,400 BP Pension Fund members, has instructed Andrew Spink KC and counsel team at Outer Temple Chambers and solicitors Stephenson Harwood to act for them in their dispute with BP and the Pension Fund Trustee.
Decisions made by BP and the Trustee have led to an 11% reduction in the real value of the pensions paid to 60,000 members of the Pension BP Fund during the past two years. Despite repeated efforts over many months to enter into a dialogue with the Company and Trustee, both have refused to properly engage with UK pensioners.
Andrew Spink KC and solicitors Stephenson Harwood have worked together on many cases and were successful in a recent landmark case, acting for the pensioners of the BBC.
A fund-raising exercise has successfully raised £80,000 to fund legal expenses.
Notes to Editors
- Andrew Spink is a highly respected KC specialising in pensions, banking and financial services. https://www.outertemple.com/barrister/andrew-spink-kc/
- Stephenson Harwood LLP have a proven track record in successfully acting for representatives of groups of pension scheme members. https://www.shlegal.com/services/pensions-dispute-resolution
- The BP Pension Fund has c. 60,000 members of whom 16,000 are over the age of 80. The average annual pension paid is c. £18,000 pa.
- For some 30 years, BP and the Trustees have given written and verbal assurances that their policy is to “increase pensions in line with cost-of-living increases wherever possible and provided the Fund has sufficient resources.”
- Thousands of BP employees invested their own money into the Fund with that assurance. The Fund currently has a very strong surplus of £5 billion.
- In the past two years, BP and the Trustees have failed to follow the policy of increasing pensions in line with the cost of living leading to a permanent 11% reduction in the value of BP pensions in real terms.
- The BP Pension Fund trustee recently admitted that it was in talks with insurance companies inviting them to ‘buy-in’ to the Fund. Buy-In arrangements are invariably the first step leading to a complete sell off of pension funds to insurance companies.
Issued on behalf of the 2,400 members of the BP Pensioner Group
Website: https://bppensionergroup.org/
Email: contact@bppensionergroup.org