General Emails

1. Letter from Geoffrey Eibl-Kaye
2. Email from Terry Clowes
3. Comment on monies transferred in - Peter Jennings

Gentlemen,

Tom Heneghan, a retiree from 1991, has been in contact with his MP, Virginia Bottomly and through her with the Pensions Ombudsman, to discuss IBM's action in giving small and less than annual pension increase, the manner in which C-Plan funds were used to set-up the new M-plan and the continuing 'Contribution Holidays' the Company is taking.

It is difficult to think that any of us would be other than delighted with what Tom is doing, and that we would all wish to give him our support.

I have made a composite document of all the e-mails I have from him. I commend them to you and suggest that at the very least you send Tom an e-mail giving your support.

Tom is putting together a letter that we could all use in individual complaints to the Ombudsman.

I should emphasise that this has all been Tom's effort. I'm just spreading the word. If you would do the same sending it to all the retirees in your address book then we may get a result beneficial to us all.

Geoffrey Eibl-Kaye

Gentlemen

I've just received the Members's Report for the pension plan. Page 4 says "Company Contributions of £12.1m to the M Plan section were funded from the surplus of the Defined Benefit sections.". (I presume the M Plan is the new defined contribution plan.)

In the 1998 report it says there was such a contribution of £9.2m,

in the 1997 report it says there was such a contribution of £2.7m.

Terry Clowes

Comment on monies transferred in

A minor point, some of the money in the C plan was transferred in from other companies' pension plans and hence is not, and never was IBM's to 'give' away. I joined IBM in 1986 and transferred my pension from the Philips group of companies.

Peter Jennings