Tesco to increase retirement age to 67
Tesco has announced that it has started a consultation about increasing the age at which staff can retire on a full pension from 65 to 67. It will also look at slowing the rate at which pension payments rise.
The supermarket giant said the current retirement scheme was no longer sustainable due to longer life expectancies and the effects of the world financial crisis on the value of the scheme’s investments.
The defined benefits scheme offers Tesco staff a career average pension with Tesco being one of only a handful of companies in the FTSE 100 to offer such a scheme.
The supermarket insisted it will maintain the defined benefit aspect of the scheme and will keep it open to new members. However, it will slow the rate at which pensions rise by altering the index used to calculate future rises in pensions. The scheme is currently linked to the Retail Prices Index but Tesco plans to use the Consumer Prices Index which is designed to rise more slowly.
A Tesco spokesman said: “We are keeping one of the best pension schemes in the UK for our staff and making some changes to ensure it is sustainable for the future.”
