John Lewis Partnership, London, hired Legal & General as administrator for the defined contribution section of its new hybrid retirement plan, a John Lewis spokesman said.
The new hybrid arrangement comprises DC and defined benefit sections, and was announced in February following a review of John Lewis' existing DB arrangement. The changes took effect for new employees this month, and existing employees starting in April 2016.
John Lewis will continue to offer a non-contributory pension fund based on an employee's final salary and years of service, but at a reduced accrual rate. That will be offset by an increase in company matching to the DC plan. Previously, employee contributions were matched by the plan sponsor up to 4.5% of pay for the first three years of employment. That will be extended to the full length of an employee's time with the company, said a statement announcing the changes in February.
The company's DB plan had £4.1 billion ($6.1 billion) of assets as of Jan. 31, according to a financial update, and a deficit of £1.25 billion. The size of the DC plan could not be learned by press time.
