Barclays pensions scrapped
17,000 staff to lose final salary benefits but US investment bankers exempted.

Barclays is withdrawing gold-plated pension benefits from all its staff except 1,500 investment bankers based in the US, including Bob Diamond, the bank’s president and best paid director.

The bank on Wednesday unveiled plans to shut its final salary scheme to existing members. The move will affect 17,000 staff, but exclude roughly 1,500 of its top earners. Affected members will retain benefits accrued to date but earn future entitlements under Barclays’ “Afterwork” defined contribution scheme, which does not link retirement payments to salaries. Actuaries estimated the move would save Barclays about £150m a year.

Mr Diamond, who is among Britain’s best-paid bankers after earning £21m in 2007, is in a separate US pension scheme that has been closed to new members but not to existing staff. Barclays said the US scheme was not affected because the bank had only undertaken “a UK pensions review”.
It is thought Barclays will move to shut down other final salary schemes to existing members, but has outlined no plans to date.