newsdesk > State Pension Age for both men and women will then increase gradually from 65 to 66 by October 2020.

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1 P E N S I newsdesk O N S YOur STATE PENSION - IMPOrTANT CHANGES In addition to your IWMPS pension, you will normally receive the State Basic Pension as well in your retirement. The full rates (effective 6 April 2012) at which the State Basic Pension will be paid, if you have paid the required amount of National Insurance contributions during your working life, are 5, per year ( per week) for a single person and 8, per year ( per week) for a married couple. You can get an online forecast of how much State Pension you are likely to receive at: planning/statepension/statepensionforecast/ DG_ Your State Pension becomes payable when you reach State Pension Age. Currently this is 65 for men, and 60 for women born before 6 April However, State Pension Age is changing to reflect the fact that people are generally living longer in retirement: > For women born on or after 6 April 1950, State Pension Age is rising gradually from 60 to 65 between April 2010 and November State Pension Age will then be 65 for both men and women. > State Pension Age for both men and women will then increase gradually from 65 to 66 by October > It will then increase from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028, and (according to current plans) to 68 by Your own State Pension Age, therefore, depends on your gender and your date of birth. Once the above proposals have been approved by Parliament, you will be able find out your exact State Pension Age by using the State Pension Age calculator which you can find at: state-pension-age-calculator/home.asp The amount of the State Pension is increased annually. The government has also announced that from April 2011 onwards, the annual increase will be in line with either that year s rise in earnings, the rise in the Consumer Prices Index, or 2.5% (whichever is the highest). IWMPS pensions will be paid on the following dates in 2012: 13 January 10 February 9 March 5 April 4 May 1 June 29 June 27 July 24 August 21 September 19 October 16 November 14 December PENSION PAYDAYS 2012 The pay date for pensions paid annually will be 16 November CONTACT POINTS As a Scheme member, your main point of contact is the IWMPS Administration Office. In some circumstances you can also contact Coal Pension Trustees Services Limited (CPT): If you have a query about your own membership or benefits, please contact the Administration Office, since they hold all member records and are responsible for the calculation and payment of all benefits. Their contact details are: Industry-Wide Mineworkers' Pension Scheme 5th Floor, Fountain Precinct, Balm Green, Sheffield S1 2JA Telephone: industrywideschemes@aonhewitt.com Please quote your National Insurance number or Scheme reference number in any written communication, or have them to hand if you telephone. You should also keep the administrators informed of any changes to your address or other relevant personal circumstances (including if you re a former member with a deferred pension) so that your records can be kept up-to-date and we can continue to keep in touch with you. If you are not happy with the response you receive from the administrators, or if your query is about the general operation of the Scheme or the Trustees policy, please contact the Scheme Secretary, Jonathan Storer, at CPT: The Secretary, Industry-Wide Mineworkers Pension Scheme Ventana House, 2 Concourse Way, Sheaf Street, Sheffield S1 2BJ Telephone: iwmps.enquiries@coal-pension.org.uk This is also the registered office of Industry-Wide Mineworkers Pension Scheme Trustees Limited, and all correspondence addressed to the Trustees will be dealt with by the Scheme Secretary. You can also contact the Secretary if you would like to see copies of documents like the Scheme s Trust Deed and Rules, Annual Report and Accounts, Actuarial Valuation report, Statement of Investment Principles, Corporate Governance policy, etc. Some of these documents are also available on the Scheme s website: > IWMPS - The Industry-Wide Mineworkers Pension Scheme 8 Please note that the information in this publication is based only on an interpretation of the Scheme s Rules, and is not intended to be a definitive statement of your entitlement to specific benefits from the Scheme. Some employer sections of the Scheme differ from others in certain respects, and not all employer sections necessarily adhere to the descriptions of benefits or policies described here. This newsletter is current at the point of writing, though its contents are subject to change. The Scheme's Trust Deed and Rules will override the information provided in the newsletter in the event of inconsistency. Published by Coal Pension Trustees Services Ltd. Produced by Summerhill Communication Agency Ltd., York. February 2012.

2 P E N update S I O N S > IWMPS - The Industry-Wide Mineworkers Pension Scheme Winter 2011/12 AN INTrODuCTION FrOM THE CHAIrMAN OF YOur TruSTEES, KEITH JONES Dear Member, I am very pleased to welcome you to this first issue of our new-look Pensions Update newsletter for members of the Industry-Wide Mineworkers Pension Scheme. Produced for current, former and retired members of the Scheme, this edition presents our latest annual Trustees Report, for the year to 31 December Whilst the Scheme consists of 17 distinct employer sections, each with its own ring-fenced fund, this Report is designed to give you an overview of the progress of the Scheme as a whole. It tells you about the Scheme s income and expenditure during the year (page 2); the team of Trustees and professional advisers managing the Scheme (page 3); and the Scheme s overall investment strategy and performance (pages 4/5). It also keeps you informed of various legislative changes and other topical developments in the wider pensions world (pages 6-8) which may affect you. From an investment point of view I can report that - although the climate was still quite volatile was another year of growth in most of the world s investment markets, continuing the recovery which began in 2009, but ahead of the volatility that we have seen more recently. As a result the value of the Scheme s investments grew by more than 31 million - ahead of target - and we regard this as a very satisfactory result. Combined with the fact that the Scheme s income again comfortably exceeded its expenditure, this resulted in the overall value of the fund increasing from just under 290 million to more than 328 million, a rise of around 13.3%. So the Scheme s financial performance for 2010 was quite pleasing. However, the Scheme s longer-term financial outlook is rather more concerning. This was borne out by the results of the three-yearly actuarial valuation as at 31 December 2009, which became available to us over the last year. They indicated that for the IWMPS as a whole, the value of the Scheme s liabilities (the amount of money needed to pay the benefits earned by all the Scheme s members when they come to retire) were far in excess of the Scheme s assets, meaning that there was a deficit of nearly 230 million (compared to a deficit of just under 80 million at the previous valuation in 2006). Clearly, then, the Scheme s funding position has deteriorated significantly in recent years. This is not unexpected, however: virtually all final salary or defined benefit schemes in the UK are in a similar situation, and indeed many have been forced to close. This is due to a lot of factors, including the fact that people generally are living much longer in retirement than they used to (meaning that we have to assume that retired members pensions will need to be paid for a greater number of years), and high inflation, which means that we have to plan for higher annual pension increases. In themselves these are obviously both good news for members, but they present challenges for the Trustees, who are regularly in discussion with the employers with regard to the additional contributions they need to pay into the Scheme in order to bring the funding position back into balance. As a Scheme member, though, you can rest assured that the Trustees are continuing to work hard to ensure you have the best possible pension provision from the IWMPS in your retirement. I hope you will find this update useful and informative. With best regards, Keith Keith Jones, Chairman of the Trustees

3 S C H E M E accounts TRUSTEES REPORT 2010 THE YEAR IN BRIEF Some of the main developments during the year were as follows: > The fund s total value increased from just under 290 million to more than 328 million, a rise of approximately 13.3%. > This was mainly due to the fact that 2010 was another year of growth in most of the world s investment markets; as a result the value of the Scheme s investments grew by more than 31 million. > Total membership of the Scheme fell slightly from 5795 to 5787 (2009 figures in brackets): Current contributing members 944 (1046) Former members eligible for deferred pensions on retirement 1958 (2080) Retired members and dependants receiving pensions 2885 (2669) > The participating employers paid a total of over 15.7 million into the Scheme. > Benefits totalling nearly 9.7 million were paid out during the year to individual members who had retired from the Scheme, or to the dependants of members who had died. > As announced in last Winter s Update, Keith Jones replaced Norman Haslam as Chairman of the Trustees in March 2010, and David Meuse became a Union-appointed Trustee in place of Nigel Kemp. THE SCHEME S ACCOuNTS FOr 2010 The Scheme s income and expenditure in the financial year to 31 December 2010, and other detailed financial information, are given in the formal, audited Trustees Report and Accounts. While the Scheme has 17 separate employer sections (each with its own ring-fenced fund) these Accounts reflect the aggregated position for the Scheme as a whole. In the Accounts the Scheme s auditors have stated that the financial statements give a true and fair view of the transactions that have taken place, and that both employer and member contributions have been fully paid in accordance with the schedules of contributions agreed with the Scheme s Actuary. There were 38 instances during the year where contribution payments were made later than they were actually due (mostly within one month), but all the required contributions had been paid by the year end. You can obtain a copy of the Report and Accounts (together with an annex containing information specific to your own employer section) from the Scheme s website or by contacting the Scheme Secretary (please see full contact details on page 8). The chart below shows the key highlights of the Accounts, and gives you a brief commentary on what the figures actually mean in layman s language. + THE MONEY ADDED TO THE FuND DurING THE YEAr WAS: Employer contributions Members normal contributions 2009, ,000 15,057 15,760* 2,886 2,643 Members Additional Voluntary Contributions Claims on Life Assurance policy for members who died in service (paid into fund before being paid out to dependants as benefits) Income from investments (dividends, interest etc.) TOTAL INCOME 18,832 19,586 - THE MONEY SPENT BY THE FuND DurING THE YEAr WAS: 2009, ,000 Pension payments & family benefits 5,770 6,678 Tax-free cash sums paid on members retirements 1,641 2,659 Lump sum benefits paid to dependants on members deaths in service or in retirement Transfers of leaving members benefits to other pension arrangements Life Assurance premiums Professional and administrative fees and expenses 2,380 2,347 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 10,124 12,295 * This included extra contributions totalling just over 3.4 million paid in by six employers. This was in line with the schedules of contributions agreed between those employers and the Scheme s Actuary, as part of ongoing recovery plans designed to correct funding deficits in those employer sections. 2 THE VALuE OF THE FuND AT THE STArT OF THE YEAr WAS: NET INCOME (TOTAL INCOME LESS TOTAL EXPENDITurE) WAS: THE INCrEASE IN THE MArKET VALuE OF Our INVESTMENTS IS ADDED: SO THE TOTAL VALuE OF THE FuND AT THE END OF THE YEAr WAS: 240, ,572 8,708 7,291 40,276 31, , ,048 So the Scheme s income from its normal dealings with members (ie. excluding extra employer contributions) again comfortably exceeded its expenditure. This accounted for part of the rise of almost 38.5 million in the value of the fund. The main factor, though, was the fact that investment income and growth totalling more than 31.7 million was generated; more information about the Scheme s investment performance is provided on pages 4/5.

4 Y O U R P E N S I O N S team YOur TruSTEES The Scheme is run by a trustee company called Industry-Wide Mineworkers Pension Scheme Trustees Limited. The Articles of Association of this company provide for the appointment of ten directors, who form the Scheme s Committee of Management. Five of the directors are appointed on behalf of the employers who participate in the Scheme, and five are appointed by the trade unions (currently two by the National Union of Mineworkers and three by the Union of Democratic Mineworkers). The Committee of Management (which for simplicity is referred to as the Trustees ) met formally four times during As required by legislation, the Trustees undergo ongoing personal and team training, to ensure that they have the required knowledge and understanding of the law relating to pensions and trusts, the principles of scheme funding and investment, scheme documentation, and so on. Your IWMPS Trustees at the end of 2010 were as follows: Employer-appointed Keith Jones (Chairman from 4 March 2010) Keith Jones (Scottish Coal) Christine Kaye (UK Coal Mining) Gavin Lloyd (CPL Industries) Stephen MacQuarrie (Hargreaves Services) Union-appointed Dave Meuse (UDM) (took over from Nigel Kemp on 8 September 2010) Chris Kitchen (NUM) Dave McGarry (UDM) Nicky Wilson (NUM) Jeff Wood (UDM) Norman Haslam retired as Chairman of Trustees in 2010 and was replaced by Keith Jones (who is also Chairman of Trustees of the IWCSSS) and Dave Meuse replaced Nigel Kemp as a Trustee. At the start of 2011, Neil Bowmer replaced Steve MacQuarrie (also of Maltby Colliery) and Christine Kaye also retired as a Trustee at the end of 2011 (at the time of writing, we are awaiting the appointment of her successor). We wish Christine a long and happy retirement. We would like to thank all the outgoing Trustees for their valuable contributions, and wish the new Trustees enjoyable and productive terms of office. So that the Trustees can prioritise their time as efficiently as possible, there are also three sub-committees of the Trustees, covering Investment; Administration & Discretions; and Valuation & Corporate Activity. Your Trustees, back row (l to r): Neil Bowmer, Dave Meuse, Keith Jones, Gavin Lloyd; middle row (l to r): Chris Kitchen, Dave McGarry, Nicky Wilson; front row (l to r): Christine Kaye, Keith Jones (Chairman), Jeff Wood. PrOFESSIONAL ADVISErS The Trustees have overall responsibility for running the Scheme. However, they delegate some of the more specialised tasks to external professional advisers, whose performance they monitor closely. During 2010, as at the end of the previous year, our advisers were: ACTuArIAL CONSuLTANTS SCHEME ADMINISTrATOrS INVESTMENT MANAGErS INVESTMENT ADVISErS AuDITOrS LEGAL ADVISErS AVC PrOVIDErS LIFE ASSurANCE COMPANY MEDICAL ADVISErS BANKErS Aon Consulting Aon Consulting Blackstone Alternative Asset Management BlackRock Advisers CB Richard Ellis Investors Gresham Investment Management Legal & General Investment Management M&G Investment Management Nephila Capital Rogge Funds Schroder Investment Management Hymans Robertson; Towers Watson PricewaterhouseCoopers Hogan Lovells Prudential Aviva Workability Lloyds TSB Bank; National Westminster Bank COAL PENSION TruSTEES SErVICES LTD. Secretarial and financial services for the Trustees are provided by Coal Pension Trustees Services Limited (CPT). CPT is a company jointly owned by the Trustees of the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme. CPT deals with member enquiries about Trustee policy and responds to any disputes raised by members. It is also responsible for the Scheme s financial management, and for monitoring and liaising with the Scheme s administrators, investment managers and other professional advisers. The Scheme Secretary is Jonathan Storer, who joined CPT in April 2011 after the former Secretary, John Haigh, stepped down. Jonathan was previously Chairman of Trustees of the TWIL Group Pension Fund and Head of Personnel at Sheffield steelmakers, Tinsley Wire. 3

5 investment S C H E M E HOW THE SCHEME S MONEY IS INVESTED During the year (as illustrated on page 2), the Scheme receives money through contributions, investment income and so on, and pays money out in the form of pensions, other benefits, transfers-out, life assurance premiums and administrative expenses. The balance is then added to the Scheme s assets, which are invested through professional investment managers; here we report on the investment climate which prevailed during 2010, the strategy followed by the Scheme, and the performance which resulted. Climate Continuing the recovery seen in 2009, 2010 was another year of growth in most of the world s investment markets. As far as the equity markets were concerned, the FTSE All-Share Index in the UK, for instance, was quite volatile but rose by 14.5% over the year as a whole. In North America, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 11%. In Continental Europe the DAX index in Germany, for example, grew by over 15.5%. And in Asia the BSE100 index in India saw growth of slightly less than 16%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose by just over 5%. The FTSE World equities index rose by 16.3% in sterling terms. The bond markets also delivered satisfactory results, with the FTSE All Stocks Gilts index rising by 7.2%, and corporate bonds (as measured by the BofA Merrill Lynch Non-Gilts Index) producing a return of 8.4%. It should be noted, however, that the investment climate is likely to remain volatile for some time to come, as uncertainty continues over the strength of the economic recovery in certain countries and the ability of those economies to service their levels of national debt. Strategy The investment strategy for each employer section is decided separately. A variety of asset types are used, with a wide geographical spread, including UK and overseas stocks and shares (equities), government and corporate bonds, property, cash deposits and other alternative assets. Generally, those employer sections with higher proportions of current contributing members tend to invest more heavily in assets which are expected to produce long-term growth, such as equities and property. All of the Scheme s equity investments are in index-tracking funds. The objective of these funds is to match as closely as possible the indices of the markets in which they invest. As such, this strategy (also known as passive management) is designed to carry less risk and the fees which the Scheme has to pay are lower than with actively managed equity funds, which aim to outperform the market indices (but do not always succeed). Those more mature employer sections with higher proportions of pensioners, on the other hand, tend to opt for the less volatile, lower-risk asset types like bonds and cash. These usually produce less growth, but they deliver the more predictable flows of income which these sections need in order to pay out the regular pensions of their members. The main strategic change made in 2010 (following a thorough review undertaken by the Trustees in 2009) was to move around 10% of the Scheme s overall investment portfolio out of equities and into property funds, with the intention of taking advantage of renewed growth in that sector. Following that adjustment, 86% of the portfolio was divided between three principal investment managers during the year: > Legal & General Investment Management (UK/North America/Europe/Japan/Asia Pacific/Emerging World Markets equities, plus index-linked government bonds) % of the total assets > Blackrock Advisers (index-linked UK government and corporate bonds/sterling liquidity fund) % of the assets > Schroder Investment Management (property funds) - 8.1% of the assets 4

6 In addition, smaller portions of the portfolio were managed by six further investment managers using various alternative asset types: > Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (hedge fund) - 2.4% > CB richard Ellis Investors (property) - 1.7% > Gresham Investment Management (commodities) - 2.0% > M&G Investment Management (European loan fund/uk companies financing fund) - 1.8% > Nephila Capital (insurance-related assets) - 2.2% > rogge Funds (emerging market currency fund) - 2.6% The remaining 1.3% of the assets were held in cash deposits. So at 31 December 2010, the breakdown of the overall portfolio between asset types was as follows (2009 figures in brackets): UK equities 13.6% (18.8%) Overseas equities 31.3% (35.9%) Bonds 30.8% (31.4%) Liquidity fund 2.2% (0.0%) Property 8.1% (0.0%) Alternative investments 12.7% (12.1%) Performance Cash/other assets 1.3% (1.8%) All of our investment managers are set challenging performance targets or benchmarks which they are expected to match or exceed. For Legal & General, following an index-tracking strategy, their benchmarks are the indices of the markets in which they invest. The performance of our other managers is monitored by the WM Company, an independent investment monitoring service, against targets which are based upon average returns in the market sectors concerned. Against these benchmarks, we can report that the following results were achieved in 2010: INVESTMENT returns 2010 L&G L&G Blackrock Blackrock Schroders Equities Bonds Corporate Index-linked Property Bonds Bonds Benchmark 13.5% 8.8% 8.4% 9.0% 9.1% Actual Performance 13.8% 8.8% 9.1% 9.4% -0.5% Blackstone CBrE Gresham M&G M&G Loans CFF Benchmark 3.6% 3.9% -2.2% 2.1% 2.2% Actual Performance 8.4% -1.8% 15.6% 6.5% 3.1% Nephila rogge TOTAL SCHEME Benchmark 3.3% 2.7% 9.8% Actual Performance 4.9% 5.7% 10.7% Overall, then, the Scheme exceeded its investment performance target, with our assets increasing in value by over 31 million, and we regard this as a very satisfactory result. The Trustees will of course continue to keep both our strategy and the performance of each of our investment managers under close review during the year ahead to ensure that they remain appropriate to the needs of the Scheme going forward, particularly in light of the three-yearly actuarial valuation carried out as at 31 December We will inform you of any further changes in next year s edition of Pensions Update. 5

7 legislationu P D A T E CHANGES TO PENSIONS TAX RELIEF Like most occupational pension schemes the IWMPS is registered with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). As a result members get tax relief on their pension contributions, but in return HMRC lays down certain limits on the contributions you can pay into the Scheme in any year and the benefits you can build up during your membership. Any contributions you make or benefits you earn which are in excess of those limits will incur substantial extra tax charges. The HMRC limits are structured around two main Allowances, called the Annual Allowance and the Lifetime Allowance. Beginning on 6 April 2011, as part of its drive to reduce public spending, the government has made some significant changes to these Allowances. Most IWMPS members will be unaffected, but we need to tell you about the changes anyway so that any members who may be affected can take advice and plan appropriately. The main changes affect the Annual Allowance, which applies to the total amount of pension savings you can make in any year. This includes: > the amount of pension you earn during the year as an IWMPS member > the amount you pay (if any) in Additional Voluntary Contributions > the amount of any contributions you make (if any) to personal pension arrangements outside the Scheme > and any defined benefits you earn in any other scheme. The aggregated total of these amounts is compared with the Annual Allowance each year, and if the Allowance is exceeded then you will be required to pay income tax on the excess at your highest marginal rate. The changes to the Annual Allowance are as follows: 1) Prior to 6 April 2011 the level of the Allowance was 255,000, but from that date it was reduced to 50,000. So the maximum level of contributions upon which you can now receive tax relief in any year is 100% of your earnings (as before) or 50,000, whichever is the lower. If your annual earnings are greater than 50,000, therefore, your maximum contribution is now less than before. 2) HMRC has a particular detailed method for calculating the Annual Allowance. You may wish to seek tax advice or refer to HMRC's website for further information. Prior to 6 April 2011 the actual pension you earned in a year was multiplied by a factor of 10, and the resulting amount was then used in the Annual Allowance calculation. So if your Pensionable Earnings were 30,000 and you earned pension in a year at the rate of 1/60th of that ( 500), the figure used in the Annual Allowance calculation was 5000 ( 500 x 10). From 6 April 2011 the factor was increased from 10 to 16, so the equivalent figure will now be 8000 ( 500 x 16). So to remain within the Allowance in 2011/12, the maximum pension you can earn during the year is 3,125 ( 50,000 16). 3) A new three-year carry forward rule was introduced, which allows you to carry forward any unused Annual Allowance from the previous three tax years. 4) For the purpose of testing them against the Annual Allowance, your contributions and benefits are calculated over a period of a year called the Pension Input Period. The legislation permits the Trustees to determine what the Pension Input Period will be for the Scheme, and the Trustees have given notice that the Pension Input Period for the IWMPS runs from 6 April to 5 April each year, and has done so in each year from (and including) 2007 when the Annual Allowance was first introduced. The Lifetime Allowance applies to the total size of your pension fund earned from all sources over your working life. This includes the value of your pension from the IWMPS, any previous employers schemes, AVCs and any personal pension arrangements, but excludes your State pension entitlement. Currently the level of this Allowance is 1.8 million, but from 6 April 2012 it will be reduced to 1.5 million. Members who expect their pension savings to be more than 1.5 million can apply for "fixed protection". Application forms can be found on the HMRC website and must be received by HMRC in hard copy form by 5 April If you apply for fixed protection, you must tell us. You may wish to take advice if you think this might affect you. If you think you might be affected by these changes, which are quite complex, please contact the Administration Office for further information. Further information about the Allowances, including examples and an Annual Allowance calculator, can be found on HMRC's website ( 6

8 ANNUAL PENSION INCREASES As we reported in the Winter 2010/11 edition of Update, the government had announced its plans for occupational pension schemes to begin using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation when calculating annual pension increases, instead of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure. Legislation for this came into effect in April 2011, and we are now able to explain how this affects you as a member of the IWMPS. Both RPI and CPI measure inflation by recording how the price of a particular basket of goods increases over a year. However, the two baskets contain slightly different items: the main difference is that CPI does not currently include housing-related costs such as mortgages. They also use different mathematical formulae. The result is that, historically, CPI has generally been lower than RPI by about 1% per year (though there have been occasional years when CPI has been higher). This affects you if you are a retired IWMPS member already receiving your pension, or if you are a former IWMPS member eligible to receive a deferred pension when you retire: retired members receiving pensions The IWMPS Rules make provision for your pension to be increased in Autumn each year in line with the percentage rise in the RPI in the year to the previous June. However, this only applies if the Scheme s Actuary certifies that your employer section can afford the increase without having to increase the employer s contributions to the Scheme (or if the employer is prepared to pay those extra contributions). If these circumstances applied, the increase would continue to be based on the RPI and you would not be affected by this change. However, it has not been possible for this actuarial certification to be given for any employer section for several years, and it is unlikely that it will be given for some years to come. In practice, therefore, you are most likely to receive the statutory minimum increase. The inflation measure used to calculate this has changed from the RPI to the CPI, and as a result the annual increase you receive will be as follows: > for pension earned from 6 April 1997 up to 5 April CPI up to a maximum of 5% > for pension earned since 6 April CPI up to a maximum of 2.5%. As currently, you will continue to receive a letter each year telling you the amount of your increase (and whether it is based on RPI or CPI). Please see the IWMPS website for more information about pension increases: Former members with deferred pensions The initial amount of your deferred pension is increased (or revalued ) each year between your date of leaving the Scheme and your retirement, to take account of inflation. Up to now, the increase each year has been in line with that year s rise in the RPI (subject to a maximum of 5% for pension earned up to 5 April 2009, and 2.5% for pension earned after that date). With effect from April 2011, however, increases will instead be based on the CPI (again subject to the 5%/2.5% maximum). The effect is that the annual revaluation of your pension is likely to be lower because CPI is generally lower than rpi. When you come to take your pension on retirement, therefore, it may be correspondingly less than it would have been prior to this change. OTHEr DEVELOPMENTS The election of the coalition government last year has led to a number of other pensions-related changes, which are at different stages of being formulated and implemented. In brief, the areas that these cover include: > Phasing out of employers ability to force their employees to retire from work at a set (or default ) retirement age - this has been implemented with effect from April For IWMPS members, this means that you can now continue working beyond the Scheme s normal retirement age of 60 if you wish. If you continue in work with the same employer after age 60 you will have three options: - cease paying contributions and take your pension from age 60 as normal (even though you are still working) - build up more pension by continuing to pay contributions (subject to maximum Contributing Service of 45 years) - or stop paying contributions but leave your benefits in the IWMPS - a late retirement addition will then be added for the period from age 60 to the date you start taking your pension. You can find more information about working beyond age 60 in the Flexible Retirement section of the IWMPS website: The Scheme s administrators will write to you about your options a few months before your 60th birthday. > A proposed flat rate State Pension of around 140 per week for future pensioners from 2015, and the ending of the State Second Pension. As your Trustees we will of course continue to monitor all of these external developments closely, and to keep you informed of any changes that affect you. If you need more information about any of the above changes, please contact the Administration Office. 7