British Airways (BA) has temporarily suspended the provision of transfer values to all its active British Airways Pensions members.
The suspension will apply to active members of the airline’s defined benefit (DB) New Airways Pension Scheme (Naps) and the Airways Pension Scheme (Aps), unless the transfer values are being requested for divorce purposes.
BA Pensions has implemented the suspension to help maintain service levels while the organisation consults on the closure of Naps to future accrual.
If the outcome of BA’s consultation results in the closure of Naps to future accrual, affected members will receive a statement within two months of the potential closure, detailing their Naps pension at the date of closure, as well as the transfer value for the pension. The transfer value will be guaranteed against changes in market conditions for a three-month period.
A transfer value equates to the value of a member’s pension benefits that has been converted into a cash sum for the purposes of securing pension benefits in another registered pension scheme. It is paid directly to the new pension provider. DB pension scheme members become entitled to a transfer value once they have ceased pensionable service.
In a statement to members, BA wrote: “There is no requirement to provide a transfer value to members who are still building up benefits in the scheme, although we have, until now, provided these to all active members on request. The decision to suspend the provision of transfer values is driven solely by the desire to maintain service levels across all categories of the membership during an exceptionally busy period.”
BA declined to comment.