Comments: February 2010:The NEC Group's proposing closing its final salary pension scheme to future accrual, affecting just over 40% of the permanent workforce. The Birmingham-based venue management company is entering a 60-day consultation period with all affected employees - about 360 - beginning on February 23, during which time alternative proposals may be put forward. If the proposals go ahead all employees currently in the final salary scheme will be offered the opportunity to sign up to the group scheme, along with new starters.

Comments: March 2010 NESTLÉ has announced it is scrapping final salary pensions for staff – but claimed its pension scheme will still be one of the best in the industry. The company said it would continue to offer both “defined benefit” and “defined contribution” options for both existing and new employees, but the resulting defined benefit pension would relate to an employee’s average salary during their career instead of their final salary.

Under this option Newsquest would also increase its contribution from six per cent to 12 per cent - a figure the NUJ says is far below what other comparable employers in the sector contribute.

Apart from increasing their contributions to keep the final salary scheme, the options available include paying in less for an inferior version, changing to a money purchase - or defined contribution - scheme, or opting out altogether.

A group of former employees is now putting pressure on the company to make good the shortfall. 

Comments: February 2010: Nortel Networks filed for bankruptcy last January and plans to use the sale of international assets to pay its shareholders. However, a court hearing in Canada on Thursday will decide the extent of the regulator’s claim. The UK regulator is pursuing a Financial Support Direction from Nortel entities in the US, Canada and EMEA region which would allow it to use Nortel's global assets to fund a £2.1 billion deficit in the UK pension fund. It is understood that assets from the UK business would cover less than half of the deficit but if the scheme is to avoid the PPF it needs to find £2.2 billion. If the UK scheme does join the PPF, the pensions lifeboat will have to pay £700 million towards its cost. 26 February 2010: Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reports that the UK regulator attended a Toronto court hearing yesterday in a bid to secure £2.1 billion of international assets from communications company Nortel Networks. John Marshall, partner at Canadian law firm Borden Ladner Gervais, which is acting for the regulator said Nortel has ‘grossly overstated’ the level of interference. ‘The regulator never becomes a creditor. Its job is to fulfil its statutory obligations,’ said Marshall. March 2010 Britain’s pensions regulator is to appeal a decision by a Canadian court that bars it from laying claim to billions of pounds worth of assets owned by Nortel, the telecoms equipment manufacturer, on behalf of members of the UK subsidiary’s underfunded pension scheme.