MPs probe BHS pension settlement 

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MPs probe BHS pension settlement 

The work and pensions select committee has started to scrutinise the BHS pension settlement, after former owner Sir Philip Green agreed to pay £363m into a new scheme.

The committee will today (8 March) publish a letter to The Pensions Regulator asking for more detail on the terms of the out-of-court settlement reached with Sir Philip Green last month.

The committee of MPs also want to find out the full impact the settlement will have on BHS pensioners.

BHS has been embroiled in public criticism for months after the collapse of the high street store meant tens of thousands of employees would not get the pension they had been promised.

The newly-created scheme will pay members the same pension that they were originally promised by BHS, with greater ongoing benefits than they would have received from the lifeboat vehicle, the Pension Protection Fund.

Members will be able to move into the new scheme or stay in the PPF.

The Pensions Regulator said it hoped the agreement would bring certainty to the 19,000 members of the BHS scheme.

Yet the deal has come under fire from a pensions expert, who warned it could set a precedent for creating so-called ‘zombie schemes’ as struggling employers look to offload their pension liabilities.

katherine.denham@ft.com