BP and Barclays make scheme changes

June saw further evidence of significant changes being made to major employers’ pension schemes. The inexorable shift away from final salary schemes gained momentum with Barclays closing its scheme to existing members for future accrual, while BP closed its currently well-funded scheme to new employees. Both firms cited longevity risk as a key influence on their decisions, but economic and political uncertainty – including the 15th set of ministerial changes at the DWP in the last 12 years – must also have played their part.