Marks and Spencer’s defined benefit active scheme members will no longer earn new benefits in the scheme from April 2017.

The firm said members will be offered the chance to join the company’s DC plan and as part of the pension changes, the company has agreed to extend the cash supplement support (offered as part of the proposals) for affected colleagues from two to three years.

It will also maintain the death-in-service benefit at four times salary for members of the DB scheme that choose not to enrol in the defined contribution plan. Early retirement factors for all deferred members of the DB scheme will be improved.

In a statement M&S said: “The outcome of the three month consultation process has been approved by the Marks and Spencer Group board and the changes will take effect from April 2017.

“As referenced in M&S’s Prelims statement on the 25 May 2016, these changes are not expected to significantly impact on underlying costs in this or the next year financial year. However, there will be a non-underlying charge in the current financial year in the range of c. £100m to £150m. This non-underlying charge is largely driven by the DB pension changes because when current active members become deferred members, the annual increase in their pensionable salary is linked to CPI as opposed to being capped at 1 per cent.”

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