Department store House of Fraser has closed its two defined benefit (DB) pension schemes to future accrual.
The retailer made the move after its pension scheme deficit nearly trebled in the past year when it went from £31.7m at the end of January 2011 to £85m at the end of January 2012. According to the scheme the closure will also ensure the store will be ready for auto-enrolment, which comes into effect later this year.
The schemes closed are the House of Fraser Pension Plan and the James Beattie Pension Plan. The closure was agreed upon after a consultation with members and trustees.
As the scheme was already closed to new members it will affect only 350 of the department store's 7,000 employees.
The members will now be given the option to join the organisation's stakeholder scheme.
First published 12.06.2012
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