Isn't this a copy of the same letter that went to all of us in the US several
years back with some minor wording changes?
We all knew it would come as soon as IBM could find a legal way to do so.

--- In ibmpension@yahoogroups.com, alwaysontheroad4bigblue <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> From http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/07/ibm_final_salary_pension_killed/
>
> IBM UK snuffs 'final salary' pensions
> Bow to the 'Productivity objective'
>
> By Cade Metz in San Francisco
>
> Posted in Business, 7th July 2009 21:39 GMT
>
> Increase your knowledge of the latest threats to your busines
>
> IBM UK has shelved its "final salary" pension plan, pulling this prime benefit
out from under about 28 per cent of its workforce.
>
> With an email sent to employees at about 5:30pm UK time - after most employees
had likely gone home for the day - IBM UK and Ireland general manager Brendon
Riley announced the end of the company's Defined Benefit pension scheme, which
would have guaranteed retired employees a predefined portion of their final
salary.
>
> "In the wake of a volatile economic environment, pension schemes around the
world and here in the UK are being assessed by many companies for affordability
and long-term sustainability," the email reads. "For IBM UK also, the
rapidly-rising costs and liabilities associated with the provision of Defined
Benefit pensions is placing pressure on our long-term ability to invest for
future growth and operate in an intensely competitive global market.
>
> "Recent trends in the economic environment have now accelerated the need for
IBM UK to take further steps to mitigate the impact of these external factors
and enable the Company to retain its leadership position moving forward."
>
> IBM UK did not immediately respond to our requests for comment. But we
contacted the company after UK business hours. IBM US pointed us back to the UK.
On the other side of the worker-management divide, one employee had this to say
about losing his final salary pension: "The fuckers can shove their job up their
arse."
>
> The company retains its Defined Contribution or "money purchase" plan, where
employees contribute portions of their salaries to a pension fund where they
assume the risk - not IBM. There's no guarantee on how much they'll eventually
get out of it.
>
> The Defined Benefit plan will be closed to further accrual - i.e. employees
can no longer build up additional benefits under the plan - in April 2010. And
until then, salary increases will no longer count towards the plan. Once they
end their Defined Benefits memberships, employees have the option of joining the
Defined Contribution plan.
>
> With his email, Riley also said IBM would improve the Defined Contribution
plan. Currently, if an employee contributes three per cent of his salary, IBM
will contribute eight per cent. The "proposal" for the future matching scheme
would see IBM contribute "up to 2% on top" of that eight per cent. "For example,
if an employee elects a contribution of 4%, IBM will contribute 9%," Riley says.
"If an employee elects a contribution of 5%, IBM will contribute 10%." This will
not affect some employees already on the plan.
>
> According to an IBM UK employee speaking to The Reg, IBM UK has already
reduced the final salary per centage the Defined Benefit plan would pay out.
"This was supposed to make the scheme 'safe,'" says this employee, who's under
the final salary plan, "so they've effectively gone back on their word."
>
> "I'm fuming," he adds. "It has totally thrown our futures into doubt."
>
> But IBM sees this as a future upgrade. "I understand that the proposed changes
that I am announcing today will be sensitive and difficult for many," Riley
writes. "However, I believe that these proposals are both responsible and
necessary for IBM UK at this time, in order for us to achieve sustainable
progress against our Productivity objective, strengthen our long-term
competitiveness and ensure our future industry leadership."
>
> Earlier in his email, Riley blames the change on a "recent trends in the
economic environment." But Big Blue is one of the few tech giants still churning
out profits (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/20/ibm_q12009_numbers/) on par
with with pre-Meltdown financials.
>
>
> Note: IBM executives, on the other hand, continue to pull in millions of
dollars through free stock options:
>
> http://www.ibmemployee.com/insiderTrading.shtml
>