A settlement agreement worth £184m will allow the Lehman Brothers pension scheme to pay full retirement benefits to members and avoid the scheme’s entry into the Pension Protection Fund, the Pensions Regulator has revealed.

The settlement has secured the benefits of a total of 2466 members.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, triggering insolvency for the majority of the group. The sponsoring employer of the Lehman Brothers pension scheme is Lehman Brothers Limited and the scheme was supported up to this point with a viable recovery plan, under the scheme-specific funding regime.

The insolvency of the main UK Lehman Brothers entities left LBL without the means of providing ongoing support for the scheme. Subsequently, a case for the imposition of an FSD was investigated and presented to the determinations panel.

TPR interim chief executive Stephen Soper said the estimated £184m settlement payment “will be the largest sum paid to a scheme as a result of our actions so far”.

“This is a pleasing and appropriate settlement and shows we will not hesitate to pursue regulatory action to protect members’ benefits and PPF levy payers where we believe it is appropriate.

“The regulator has increasingly been required to engage its anti-avoidance powers to secure the retirement benefits of members and protect the PPF. This case demonstrates that the regulator’s anti-avoidance powers can be used effectively, even in highly complex international insolvency situations.”

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