Why you should put an M Plan member first

From Mnd

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—the scheme designed to encourage C Plan, I Plan and N Plan members away from their plan—that basic M Plan members saw a clear comparison between what the defined benefit members were getting and what they were getting.

• The red columns show that, whatever the age of the M Plan member, the employer contributes 8% of their salary to their pension pot.

• The blue 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.