BT Pension Scheme's pension benefits paid to its Section C participants will continue to be increased according to the retail price index despite the pension fund's attempt to appeal in the Supreme Court after the Supreme Court rejected the pension fund's appeal of an earlier ruling of the U.K. Court of Appeal.
BT's appeal to an earlier decision by the High Court of Justice was unsuccessful, London-based BTPS said in a statement on its website. BT intended to change the reference it uses to calculate pension benefit increases to participants in one of its sections. Pension benefit increases for participants in Sections A and B of the fund — those who joined either before Dec. 1, 1971, or between Dec. 1, 1971, and March 31, 1986, respectively — are calculated using the consumer price index.
But the High Court of Justice ruled it couldn't use the CPI over RPI to calculate benefit increases for 83,000 participants in Section C of the £50 billion ($63 billion) pension fund, which includes workers who joined from April 1, 1986, to March 31, 2001. Both CPI and RPI measure inflation, but RPI includes housing prices and is typically higher.
"We confirm that BT has been refused permission by the Supreme Court to appeal the Court of Appeal's decision concerning the index for calculating pension increases for Section C members of the BT Pension Scheme," a BT spokesman said in an emailed comment. "While we are disappointed, we do, of course, accept the Supreme Court's decision."
