British Railways Board Company news
4 January 2003
Railway Pensions Scheme: BRB & OPRAF sections
The BRB Section of the RPS covers those RPS members who transferred to the SRA from the British Railways Board along with those members who remained in BRB (Residuary) Ltd. and the BT Police. This section had an adequate surplus.
However, the OPRAF section, whose staff also transferred to SRA, had a significant deficit. Under the rules of the fund the SRA have to make proposals to alleviate the shortfall, which would usually mean that contribution rates for the employer and employees of this section would have to increase to eliminate the shortfall over (usually) 5 years.
The SRA has proposed an alternative approach, which is to examine whether the employers surplus in the BR section can be used to eliminate the deficit in the OPRAF section. This proposal is being considered by the Trustee Board of the RPS and the Pensions Committee of the BRB section.
There is no Pensions Committee for the OPRAF section and the Trustee Board looks after the interests of this section. I sit on the BR Section Pension Committee and there is a TSSA representative on the Trustee Board.
The SRA believe that their proposal will have no effect on the employees in the BR Section of the Scheme as only the employers share of the surplus is the subject of the proposal. The proposal will not preclude the employees section of the surplus being used to benefit members, perhaps by extension of the part pensions holiday beyond September 2003.
However, the BR Section Pensions Committee will need to be assured that the proposal will not affect members interests in the short or long term and in this respect we will be advised by actuarial and legal experts, as will the main Trustee Board.
The proposal is at an early stage and will only be approved by the BR Section Pensions Committee if it can be shown that members interests are not adversely affected. In the event that the proposal does not proceed negotiations will he held with the SRA regarding an alternative method of addressing the shortfall in the OPRAF section.
Dave Chalkley - Negotiations Officer
