Financial union claims pension plan will cut pay by 10 per cent

Unifi, the financial sector union, claims a decision by the National
Australia Group (NAG) to terminate its present pension scheme for future
recruits will effectively cut pay by 10 per cent.

NAG, which employs 11,500 staff in the UK and Ireland and is the parent
company of Yorkshire, Clydesdale and Northern banks, will replace its defined
benefit scheme with a defined contribution scheme for new staff who join from
January next year.

Unifi deputy general secretary, Sandy Boyle, called the new provisions
"another nail in the pensions coffin of UK plc".

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The union says staff joining the defined contribution scheme would have to
pay out 10 per cent of their annual salary to gain the same pension rights as
members of the defined benefit scheme.

A spokesman from NAG said the new defined contribution scheme was good value
for employees, and put the financial services sector in line with the rest of
the banking industry.