91热爆

Your Questions Answered

What is the 91热爆’s Future Pension Review?

In May 2022 the 91热爆 announced a review of future pension provision for employees and that it had decided to ask the High Court to rule on the correct interpretation of one of the Scheme’s Rules. The 91热爆 asked the High Court whether it might be possible to change future service benefits and/or member contributions for Active Members under the power of amendment in the Scheme’s Trust Deed and Rules (Rule 19) and, if so, on what terms and by what process.

The 91热爆’s Future Pension Review is about future pension saving for current employees, and the 91热爆 has confirmed that there will be no change to benefits that members have already built up – which includes pensions in payment and deferment (and, in any event, there are also certain statutory protections for pension benefits that have already built up).

Active Members with access to Gateway can find out more about the 91热爆’s Future Pension Review on Gateway.

Who were the parties in the Court proceedings?

There were three parties involved in the Court proceedings:

• The 91热爆, as principal employer of the Scheme;
• A “Representative Beneficiary”, chosen by the 91热爆, who is a current 91热爆 employee and an Active Member of the Scheme (see below); and
• The Trustee, which is responsible for administering the Scheme.

The 91热爆 brought the Court proceedings and presented the case for its preferred interpretation of how the Rules might permit changes to be made to the benefits Active Members could build up in the future (future service benefits) and member contributions for Active Members. The 91热爆 did not need the agreement of the Trustee or any other party to bring its claim in the High Court.

The Representative Beneficiary represented Active Members’ interests in the Court proceedings. It was primarily for the Representative Beneficiary's legal team to ensure that they raised in Court any arguments as to why the 91热爆's interpretation of the Scheme Rules may not be correct.

The Representative Beneficiary was Chris Burns, the Head of Audio and Digital for 91热爆 England and an Active Member in the Career Average Benefits 2011 section of the Scheme. Chris was supported by an independent and appropriately experienced legal team and, as is common in cases of this type, the 91热爆 agreed to pay for Chris’s legal advice and support in connection with the Court hearing.

The Trustee was also represented in Court and had its own legal team. The Trustee has a legal duty to administer the Scheme in accordance with the Rules. It therefore needs to understand how the Rules should correctly be interpreted in order to comply with this duty. The Trustee’s role in these proceedings brought by the 91热爆 was primarily to assist the Court and to ensure that all relevant information was provided, and all relevant questions and arguments were raised.

How were my interests as an Active Member represented in the Court proceedings?

The Representative Beneficiary represented the interests of Active Members in the proceedings. Chris Burns was selected by the 91热爆 as the Representative Beneficiary and she was supported by an independent and appropriately experienced legal team. It is important to note that her role was to represent Active Members as an entire class – neither Chris nor the legal team advising her represented individual members within the class. As is common in cases of this type, the 91热爆 agreed to pay for Chris’s legal advice and support in connection with the proceedings.

If you would like to get in touch with the Representative Beneficiary about the Court application, you can do so via her legal team up until 9 August 2024 by emailing: RepresentativeBeneficiary2022@shlegal.com or by writing to: Representative Beneficiary (01-60-06650), Stephenson Harwood LLP, 1 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7SH.

What were the questions that the High Court considered?

The questions of interpretation the 91热爆 asked the High Court focused on whether (and if so how) the Scheme’s amendment power (Rule 19) could be used to change the benefits Active Members might receive for future service or to increase the contributions they may have to make. The 91热爆 said in its communications to employees when it announced its review of pensions that it was seeking clarification on a number of options ranging from the way benefits are built up and funded, through to full closure of the Scheme to future accrual.

The 91热爆 asked the Court to determine the meaning of the amendment power in Rule 19 of the Scheme's Trust Deed and Rules in the context of potential changes to the benefits Active Members might receive for future service. Scheme Rule 19 sets out a mechanism for making changes to the Scheme Rules. The claim form details the questions the Court considered. The 91热爆 published its claim form which is available for Active Members on Gateway.

What did the High Court decide?

The High Court issued its decision on 28 July 2023 and you can read the full judgment .

In summary on the main question, the High Court preferred the Representative Beneficiary’s arguments and concluded that Rule 19 can only be used to change future service benefits and/or member contributions for Active Members if one of three conditions set out in Rule 19 has been satisfied. Those three conditions can be summarised as:

1. the Scheme Actuary (who is appointed by the Trustee) has confirmed that Active Members will not be substantially worse off as a result of the proposed changes; or

2. if Active Members will be substantially worse off, the Scheme Actuary has confirmed that they will be provided with suitable alternative benefits (which must be substantially equivalent to existing benefits); or

3. the Active Members as a group have agreed to the proposed changes at a duly convened meeting of Active Members.

Please note that the High Court decision did not change Active Members’ future service benefits or the benefits members have already built up including deferred pensions and pensions in payment.

The 91热爆 appealed the High Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal.

Was there an appeal?

Yes. At a follow-on procedural hearing on 15 September 2023 the 91热爆 was granted permission to appeal the High Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal hearing took place on 25-27 June 2024.

The 91热爆, Representative Beneficiary for the Active Members and the Trustee each had their own legal teams at the Court of Appeal hearing who made legal submissions to the Court.

What did the Court of Appeal decide?

The Court of Appeal issued its decision on 9 July 2024 and you can read it in .

In summary, the 91热爆’s appeal was dismissed. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the High Court that the 91热爆 cannot use Rule 19 to make changes to future service benefits and/or member contributions for Active Members without satisfying at least one of the conditions set out in Rule 19.

What will happen next?

It is for the 91热爆 to decide what to do next, although it has stated that will not seek to appeal the decision any further. The Trustee will update the Scheme website if there are any significant further developments regarding the proceedings.

Where can I find more information?

You can find more information about the Court case on our website. The frequently asked questions on the Scheme website are regularly updated. Active Members with access to Gateway can also visit Gateway to get more information about the 91热爆’s position regarding the Court case. If you are a Scheme member and have a comment or question for the Trustee that isn’t answered in the Questions and Answers on the Scheme website, you can complete the Trustee enquiry form on the Questions and Answers page.

If you are a current employee and have a comment or question for the 91热爆, you can complete the 91热爆 enquiry form available on Gateway.

If you want to get in touch with the Representative Beneficiary about the Court application you can do so via their legal team up until 9 August 2024 emailing: RepresentativeBeneficiary2022@shlegal.com or by writing to: Representative Beneficiary (01-60-06650), Stephenson Harwood LLP, 1 Finsbury Circus, London, EC2M 7SH.

For any other questions about your Scheme pension that are not related to these Court proceedings, you can find lots of information on this website or you can contact the pension service line at mypension@bbc.co.uk. You can also call them on 0303 081 2848; lines are open Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm.

You can get details of your own benefits and contact the pension service using myPension Online. If you haven’t yet registered you will need your personal security number which you can find in the letter from the Chair of the Trustee Board sent in May 2022 calling the pension service line on 0303 081 2848.