The British Airways pension schemes have temporarily suspended the provision of transfer values to active members, unless they are being requested for divorce purposes.

The suspension, which applies to the New Airways Pension Scheme and Airways Pension Scheme, has been introduced to protect service levels provided to members during BA’s pension consultation, Pensions Age has learnt.

British Airways has confirmed to its members that if the outcome of the consultation is to close the NAPS to future accrual, each member will be provided with a statement detailing their NAPS pension total at the time of closure and the transfer value of the pot.

The transfer values provided will be guaranteed against charges in market conditions for a period of three months, the company explained.

“Transferring your benefits to another registered provider is a serious undertaking and it is recommended that members take independent financial advice before reaching a decision. Where transfer values exceed £30,000 it is a requirement that members demonstrate that independent financial advice has been obtained before the transfer can proceed,” British Airways told its members.

Schemes are only legally required to provide transfer values when members cease active membership of a scheme. As a result, there is no need to provide a value to members still building up their benefits. Nonetheless, up until now, British Airways have also provided this to active members.

British Airways are not providing any additional comment at present.

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