We’ve not done anything’. They have directed shareholders to vote against our resolution while at the same time asking them to vote for the board’s generous pay increases,” she says. HSBC introduced the deductions in 1975, and the policy applies to about 52,000 members of its scheme who joined the bank between January 1975 and June 1996. It says this practice “is not unfair, disproportionate or discriminatory”, and has been clearly and consistently communicated to scheme members. “All the other banks have dropped it. So obvious they didn’t even know about it themselves in this case? “I think it’s appalling that they could treat us in this way. I joined HSBC ... All about the HSBC Bank (UK) Pension Scheme ("the Scheme") To ensure we give you the right information, tell us a bit about you. Benefits information above is provided anonymously by current and former HSBC Holdings employees, and may include a summary provided by the employer. Having to pay back the money through monthly instalments would not put Ann “on the breadline” but she would have to reconsider her outgoings. The bank says a number of other UK banks have similar arrangements. They also claim there is no link to salary or pension received, so it disproportionately penalises the less well-off. She has already had to cut back since HSBC began applying the clawback to her pension. Due to poor communication by both the Midland Bank and later HSBC, most current and former employees whose pensions are subject to clawback – those who had service between 1 January 1975 and 30 June 1996 – only found out when they reached state pension age and their income suddenly dropped. It wasn’t until she looked at her pension estimate in January last year that she found out it was subject to a State Deduction of £1,872.72 when she reached the State Pension age of 67. The HBUS Plan merged into the plan on December 31, 2004. HSBC began applying the clawback to Yvonne’s pension, which was cut to roughly £242 a month and offered her the option of paying back the sum she owed by further reducing her monthly pension. When asked about demanding money back from people affected by the pension scheme, HSBC said: “An error by the pension scheme administrators has unfortunately meant a small number of members have been impacted. All rights reserved. No work life balance or no pension plan. I am a former employee. “It is disgraceful that this profitable and wealthy multi-national bank is demanding that pensioners pay them a significant amount of their pension. The clawback of their company pension begins when they start to get their state pension. The bank isn’t short of a bob or two: last month it reported a 16% rise in 2018 pretax profits to $19.9bn (£15.4bn). Ann Marston, 69, has been told she owes the bank more than £8,000 because it was not applied when she started receiving her state pension at 60. Her husband was very ill throughout 2018 and died in October. Never mind what else was going on, on top of that, I had all this to contend with,” says Ann. Others former employees have smaller amounts of money to pay back but they still cannot afford it. Participant Information as of 12/31/2017. HSBC is one of the employers that makes a deduction, and some of its ex-staff argue they are losing out on up to £2,500 a year. We’ve not done anything. P.O. The bank’s board “unanimously recommends that shareholders vote against the resolution”. Clawback is calculated using a person’s length of service, not their salary. Campaigners battling one of the world’s biggest banks over the “grossly unfair” way it treats the pensions paid to some former workers are getting ready for a David and Goliath showdown next month. The practice – which only applies to defined benefit occupational pension schemes – is legal but mostly frowned upon. This Summary Plan Description (SPD) describes the Cash Balance section of the HSBC – North America (U.S.) Pension Plan (the “plan”) as amended through January 1, 2018. This is a great surprise.” – Former employee, Major Hotel Chain “I didn’t know All Steel had been acquired by another company who would have my benefits. Mortgages. A number of companies including Midland Bank had such schemes but very few still apply clawback. HSBC Bank. The CEOs make outstanding blunders which cost the bank millions – I can think of a few of them over the length of my career. Email: HSBCpension@willistowerswatson.com (Don't forget to include your employee ID number in your correspondence.) Learn about HSBC Holdings Pension Plan, including a description from the employer, and comments and ratings provided anonymously by current and former HSBC Holdings employees. Yvonne says she has no way of paying back the £1,600. There’s a fundamental conflict with the line they’ve been putting out. I started on or after 1 July 1996. HSBC has told shareholders that scrapping the deductions would cost it about £450m. "To locate a lost plan, former employees will need any document that has contact information for their old employers," says Jane Smith, a policy analyst at the Pension … Unrealistic sales goals and tough training activities and having to live in constant fear of losing ur job . The bank rejects their claims and says the policy is not unfair or discriminatory. It is estimated that about 52,000 former employees of HSBC are affected, and an action group has succeeded in demanding the matter be put to a shareholder vote, while protests are planned for outside the AGM venue on 12 April. “For someone like me that’s a lot of money,” she says. Unite the union is supporting the workers. For example, in 1999 Barclays capped the maximum deduction at around £950 a year, and BP scrapped deductions the following year. The practice disproportionately affects women because they tended to be on lower salaries. “These individuals said they didn’t know about the scheme and HSBC said it’s perfectly obvious. Employees who want the practice abolished are expected to protest outside the AGM in Birmingham. HSBC Customer Service Address. The Trustee of the scheme has contacted the affected individuals.”. Sharon McGeough-Adams: ‘We are furious. It’s just so unfair,” she says. She had no idea about the practice, let alone that the bank was not deducting the money. There’s a fundamental conflict with the line they’ve been putting out. Former HSBC employees protesting about the pension cuts outside the bank’s annual shareholder meeting in Birmingham last year. Supporting document for employee's cessation of employment and the date of cessation. Clawback affects people who joined Midland Bank between 1975 and 1996 on the defined benefit pension scheme. So obvious they didn’t even know about it themselves in this case?”, “I don’t know if they can take it without my permission and I don’t know, if I refuse permission, what they will do. Around 52,000 people who joined Midland Bank (which later became part of HSBC) were signed up to the now-defunct defined benefit pension scheme between 1975 … They told shareholders to vote against us’, Among those affected is Sharon McGeough-Adams, embroiled in a row over bumper executive pensions. They want £1,600 back, basically.”, Yvonne did not take the news lightly. She then received another letter telling her the bank was going to start deducting £95 from her company pension each month, bringing it down to £451. Phone: 01737 227575 (Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am and 5:30pm, excluding bank holidays.) (“HSBC Bank”) before January 1, 1997, individuals who became HSBC Bank employees as a result of the acquisition of Republic National Bank of When I got the state pension in 2016, I was still getting the same amount,” says Yvonne, who worked as a clerk at branches in north London. “What they lose sight of is the fact that… we maintained [customer] loyalty by the service we gave them and then they turn round and treat us like this.”. Glassdoor is your resource for information about the Pension Plan benefits at HSBC Holdings. HSBC employees are recognized in the Financial Times’ most recent OUTstanding (LGBT+), Empower (ethnicity) and HERoes (gender) lists 2019 – five HSBC employees from Argentina, China and the UK were named in the 2019 ‘HERoes’ lists in recognition of their efforts to champion women in business. Introduction. ‘I don’t know if I can put the heating on’: Ex-HSBC employees angry over ‘unfair’ pension scheme. This form is applicable in the circumstances where: The employee concerned has accrued benefits attributable to the employer's voluntary contributions and/or ORSO transfer; or; The employee concerned has completed at least 2 years of service with the employer. HSBC Bank USA, N.A. A senior manager retiring on a £75,000 annual pension might suffer a £2,500 a year deduction on reaching state pension age. HSBC has so far moved only a "tiny" number of jobs to Paris in order to deal with Brexit, Chief Executive John Flint said on Friday, in the bank's most detailed comments yet on its plans. Will they sue me?”. Some people stand to lose up to £2,500 a year. However, a back office worker retiring on a £10,000 pension, with the same length of pensionable service, suffers the same deduction. Around 52,000 people who joined Midland Bank (which later became part of HSBC) were signed up to the now-defunct defined benefit pension scheme between 1975 and 1996. © 2020 Associated Newspapers Limited. Twenty years ago the practice was quite widely used by UK employers: during the late 1990s unions claimed more than 2.5 million pensioners were having money “grabbed back” by their former employers. Among those affected is Sharon McGeough-Adams, 61, who started working for Midland Bank (which was taken over by HSBC in the early 1990s) in 1976 and retired in 2013. The pension scheme was a non-contributory pension final scheme and staff were eligible to join between 31 December 1974 and 1 July 1996. Most of staff wasn’t helpful and you have to figure it out on your own. H SBC has come under fire from politicians for cutting the pension payouts of its former staff by up to £2,500 a year. “That’s not the point,” she says. USA Pension Plan (the “HBUS Plan”). Groups says bank’s ‘grossly unfair’ policy is costing pensioners up to £2,500 a year, Last modified on Sat 30 Mar 2019 04.04 EDT. The amount which retired HSBC workers will lose varies, but for some it could be as much as £2,500 a year — not an insubstantial amount for … There is little or no common ground between the two sides. A range of benefits, which may cover areas such as work-life balance, insurance and savings, health and personal development. It is estimated that about 52,000 former HSBC employees are affected. “HSBC ought to put their hands up and say: ‘We go it wrong, let’s just drop this’,” he tells i. HSBC has so far stuck by the clawback practice, which it refers to as “state deduction”. HSBC also said she owed in excess of £8,000 to account for the years her company pension had been overpaid. Constant pressure about getting referrals. After a number of former HSBC employees living in Llanelli wrote to her to raise this, Ms Griffith helped to set up a cross-party group of MPs to campaign on the issue. Box 22 Buffalo, NY 14240. Working for hsbc has been stressful. The CEOs make outstanding blunders which cost the bank millions – I can think of a few of them over the length of my career. Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. The latest report in The Future of Retirement series, Shifting sands, looks at how important issues like the ageing population, rising healthcare costs and long term low interest rates are affecting the retirement plans of people around the world. I joined please select. Anger as HSBC claws back pension cash HSBC … HSBC rejects the clawback label – it uses the term “state deduction”. “The point is during my career with the bank, I knew that because of broken service and part-time work I wouldn’t come out with anywhere near the maximum pension. Participant Information as of 12/31/2018. The state deduction feature became part of the rules governing the pensions of HSBC Midland employees in 1975 and is applied to benefits accrued before … HSBC's Future of Retirement study is a leading independent study into global retirement trends. Spent it, decorated the house. And it adds that the overall pension benefit received by these members “was and remains market competitive”, particularly given that this section of the scheme operated on a final salary basis and was non-contributory until 2009. Your pension asset is valuable and by getting the right advice you will maximise your funds impact on your life and retirement. It disputes that the terms of the pension scheme were not properly communicated or that it is unfair. So obvious they didn’t even know about it themselves in this case? 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