Flybe pensions at risk for 1,350 workers and ex-staff

The pensions of workers at collapsed airline Flybe are at risk after it emerged they have no protection under the UK’s lifeboat scheme, the Pension Protection Fund. Around 1,350 of the airline’s employees and former employees are in the British Regional Airlines Group (BRAG) pension scheme, which is based in the Isle of Man, outside of the PPF’s jurisdiction. The pension fund may not have enough cash to cover all of the payments promised to workers at Flybe. The last reported valuation of the scheme in 2018 revealed it had liabilities of GBP170m and an overall deficit of GBP11.6m. Usually, with pension schemes in the UK, employees qualify for 90% protection from the PPF if their company is declared insolvent, while retired members are 100% secure. Steve Webb, partner at pension consultants Lane, Clark & Peacock said: “It is a devastating blow to Flybe workers not only to lose their jobs but potentially part of their pensions as well. The creation of the Pension Protection Fund was designed to stop this happening, but the Flybe case shows that there are still gaps in the safety net.”<br/>