The Trustee has agreed to a request from Royal Mail Group (RMG) to release some money that has been held separate from the RMPP. The release to RMG of the escrow funds (valued at £196m on 26 March 2023) was agreed after fully assessing the risks of the RMPP and an independent review of the information made available by RMG. It will enable RMG to fund a one-off lump sum payment to all employees as part of its agreement with CWU. The remainder of the escrow, £70m, will be made available to the planned Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan when it is launched, expected early next year.
The escrow was established in 2017 as a potential source of additional funds for the Plan should they be required. Since then, the funding position of the RMPP has improved considerably as a result of the Trustee’s prudent investment strategy.
The Trustee’s duty to safeguard the security of members’ benefits is their primary focus. RMPP is now well-funded and the Trustee is confident that members’ interests are well protected, even after the release of the escrow funds.
