The Post Office is planning on closing its defined benefit pension scheme by September 2016, according to union CWU.

According to the union, Post Office is planning a 60 day pension scheme consultation beginning Friday 5 February.

Under the proposals, the company plans to close the scheme to future accrual and move members into a new defined contribution scheme from 1 September 2016.

In a letter to branches, CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey explained the proposed closure relates to the “closure of the Post Office (Defined Benefits) Section of the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP), which will affect those members who joined the scheme prior to 1 April 2008”.

Furey described the proposals as an “attack on our members’ rights” stating that the Post Office has “rushed” into the consultation without any “meaningful dialogue with the CWU and without allowing any opportunity for alternatives to be explored”.

He added that scheme members will “suffer twice” under the changes proposed as “members will lose future accrual and they lose the difference between the Retail Price Index (RPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) revaluation on the benefits they have built up”.

“And on top of all this, the scheme is in surplus – not in deficit. So not only is this all extremely unfair – there is no financial case for the changes either,” he stated. The union said it is not opposed to any change but it believes there is no need to close the scheme until late 2022.

Executive members will be asked to back calls to campaign against the Post Office’s proposals, and letters of protest have already been sent to Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Royal Mail Pension Trustee Chris Hogg requesting urgent meetings to formally set out the union’s objections.

Despite being members of the same plan, the Post Office and Royal Mail are two separate companies. Therefore Post Office's decision to leave the scheme will have no bearing on Royal Mail’s membership of the Royal Mail Pension Plan.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: “In 2013, Royal Mail committed to keep the Royal Mail Pension Plan open without further changes, subject to certain conditions, at least until March 2018. This remains our intention.”

Post Office has been asked to comment but is yet to respond.

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