ICAEW to axe final salary pension scheme

The UK’s largest accountancy body has announced they are to cancel their final salary scheme.

Although the scheme has been closed to new members since 2000, current ICAEW employees who joined the scheme before then may also have to move in to the defined contribution scheme as of 31 May 2010. The scheme has a £19m funding deficit.

Other employers have been forced to save money pare down the pension offerings due to tough economic conditions and growing scheme deficits.

A spokesperson for the ICAEW said that the fund had become too costly in its current form and that the volatility of the market made it difficult to determine the amount of funding needed.

He said: “We will honour the commitments we have already made to those people in the scheme, and are committed to funding the deficit that exists.”

Further reading:

Accounting rules mask £75bn pension deficit

IBM workers up in arms about pension cuts