OUR PRIME objective continues to be to guard and further the interests of all Unilever UK pensioners, expatriate pensioners and those who are waiting to receive deferred pensions. We will continue to press for annual increases more in line with the rising costs we all face.
We continue to be concerned about the position of bereaved spouses. When their partner dies the pension is immediately reduced yet Inland Revenue rules allow them to be based on two-thirds of their dead partners initial pension. Outgoings do not halve when a partner dies. Even the State pension takes this into account and for a single person it is significantly more than half that for a couple.
We want to see an end to the policy of ‘clawing back’ a proportion of the State pension. Other 'blue chip' companies stopped doing this many years ago. However, we appreciate that while our fund is in deficit this is not a practical proposition.
Finally, we are pleased to see an improvement in the company’s performance and congratulate all concerned. Many of us are shareholders and the success of the business is important to us. Our aim is to champion the interests of all the company’s pensioners and all those who are due to receive pensions in the future. We are your voice and your watchdog in these uncertain times.
