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Our most impoverished employees, in terms of pension rights, are the members of the basic M Plan.  It was only in 2006 when the company announced the Enhanced M Plan&mdash;the scheme designed to encourage C Plan, I Plan and N Plan members away from their plan&mdash;that basic M Plan members saw a clear comparison between what the defined benefit members were getting and what they were getting.

*The <font color='red'>red</font> columns show that, whatever the age of the M Plan member, the employer contributes 8% of their salary to their pension pot.

*The <font color='blue'>blue</font> columns show how the employer contributions vary with age under the terms of the Enhanced M Plan for an employee who moved from the C Plan.

As you can see, the Enhanced M Plan rates are substantially higher overall.  In fact, from the ages of 45 to 60, they are more than double the rates of the basic M Plan.

It is not the trustee-director’s role to represent a specific group of members.  Nor are these contribution rates the business of the Trust, because they are set by the Company.

In spite of both these caveats, there is a clear need to get an M Plan member onto the board.  An M Plan member on the board will be able to tell the other directors, face-to-face, how any future proposal is likely to play out with M Planners.

I would strongly urge you to look through the list of candidates, and put an M Plan member first.  I said much the same last time, but it turned out there were no M Plan candidates.  I have reason to believe that this time there are several M Planners for you to choose from.

I am still a C Plan member, and while I would be delighted to get your vote, you should put a ‘1’ next to the name of an M Plan member.  M Planners are, after all, members of the fastest-growing section in the UK company.