If you registered on the website before 16th February and HAVE NOT received this newsletter as an email, please send a note to Mike Eacott. Also check the Lost Members page to see if we have lost contact with you.

16th February 2000

Dear C-Planner, N-Planner or E-Planner,

You are receiving this e-mail because you have registered on the CPlan Web site:

If you are an "E-mail Buddy", please print this down and give it to your buddy.

CURRENT SITUATION

Since the last Newsletter, the fundamentals of our position have not changed. Funds are being moved out of C-Plan reserves. We now know the latest yearly figure, so the sequence is:

 1997    £2.7M
 1998    £9.2M
 1999   £12.1M
 2000   £18.7M

It is still true that:

• no members, even of the M-plan, are benefiting. (See FAQ 12)
• the IBM balance sheet does benefit. (FAQ 11)
• that IBM's pensions-in-payment policy is one of the very worst.

There has been a significant change in the legal position. It is almost certain that there will be no appeal against Mr. Justice Neuberger's opinion that overruled the Ombudsman's opinion in the case between Barclays and its retirees. This strengthens the IBM lawyer's position that the benefits to IBM cannot be regarded as payments (FAQ 10). It also strengthens the IBM lawyers view that when there are funds arranged as components of an encompassing fund there can be transfers between components that are dissimilar in who they benefit and how.

The complaints against IBM are varied. (See Aims and Strategy, and the Complaints section in the Old Message Archive, reached via the Documents page.) As far as we know, only one of these alleges that the transfers were illegal. For this one to succeed on that particular ground it will now be necessary to show differences from the Barclays case, for example that there is no encompassing fund or that it was invalidly created. The other complaints are not similarly affected by the Barclays outcome.

The next significant events will be the IBM responses to the complaints officially lodged late last year under the Internal Disputes Resolution Process. Two months of non-response are allowed and we expect IBM to use the full period. Up until now, IBM has simply stated that it has behaved legally and correctly. In March we can hope for the first chink of light on why it believes that.

Meanwhile, there are politicians concerned about the effects of the current legislation and the result of the recent court case. From what MPs have told us, we think that the social implications of weakening older closed pension schemes are now on the agenda - see The View from Westminster page on the website, reached via the Latest News or Documents pages.

If you are concerned about pensions legislation then you should write to your MP (if you do, you may refer them to the website for the details). If you do write to your MP, please inform Alan Murphy, so we can keep our list of MPs, who have been contacted, up to date.

THE WEBSITE

We suggest you review the topic list on the left hand side of the home page. New topics are added from time to time, for example the FAQ section is new. The Latest News page provides links to other new material such as the Old Message Archive in which earlier messages are organised by subject, and The View from Westminster. New material is also to be found in the South Africa, Shareholders and Message pages.

The Message Board continues to be the place for discussing your ideas. Please continue to use the board to post your messages and any queries.

Please be aware that the Website is a publicly available facility. Anyone, including IBM itself, the Press, Members of Parliament, etc. may view it and so we are not able to publish any confidential or sensitive information on the site.

IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT and IDRPs.

If you feel that you have a complaint about the way the IBM Pensions Trust is handling your pension, then you can write to Mr. David Newman, Pensions Trust Manager at IBM UK Pensions Trust Ltd., PO BOX 41, Mailpoint F3S, North Harbour, Portsmouth, PO6 3AU.

You may need to invoke the 'Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure' (IDRP). This process has 2 stages, each stage is of up to 2 months. See the OPAS link on the website for how this is intended to work.

After IDRP your complaint may reach the Ombudsman but it will only be considered if it differs from the others already being processed. To avoid having a complaint extinguished at this stage, you might want to discuss it earlier with John Spencer, The Pensions Advisory Service, 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB

If you have already complained under the IDRP, please send a note to Alan Murphy containing the date submitted and the current status reached. We are asked how many IDRPs have been submitted, how many have been satisfactorily resolved and how long they took to process.

PROPOSED C PLANNERS ASSOCIATION

We are actively considering the formation of a "Association of IBM Pensioners" to represent the interests of members of the IBM C Plan and other IBM Defined Benefit pension schemes (e.g. the N and E Plan etc.).

We do have a draft constitution ready and will be able to launch an Association when required. The number of people registering on this website continues to grow and we now have sufficient support to be representative. However, it is still IMPORTANT to inform all C Plan members of the situation regarding the pension fund. There are still many who do not yet know the facts. Tell them about:

 http://www.gpsu.co.uk/cplan/

and encourage them to register on the website.

If anyone is concerned about registering their name on the website, please mention that the site (gpsu.co.uk) is registered at the Data Protection Agency. All personal data is handling according to very strict privacy rules and will NOT be made available to other organisations.

Many retirees do not have access to email, so consider becoming an "EMAIL BUDDY" - ask them if you can register their name, status and region details on their behalf. We do not yet have the resources to handle physical mail, but if you act on their behalf we can then include them as part of the group.

YOUR OPINIONS / FEEDBACK

We would like to hear more from you about where effort should be spent:

• Do you consider that publicising New IBM's poor benefits could have a negative effect on our interests?
• What else should be done, beyond what you know is already being done and should this be focussed on IBM?
• Is there a risk of other companies following a similar path and disadvantaging a whole section of society?
• Are MPs the best route for addressing these angles?
• Would Press discussion of the social issues and the possible need for regulation be useful?

Please use the Message Board or write in confidence to one of the contact names.

A NOTICE FOR HURSLEY RETIREES

The Annual General Meeting of the IBM Hursley Retired Employees' Club will be held at the laboratory on Tuesday 13 March. The AGM will be preceded by a meal in the cafeteria at 6.30pm. Access will be through main reception (A block) from 6pm.

This meeting is ONLY for members of the Hursley Retired Employees' Club and attendance information has already been mailed to those who have requested it. However, members of the Club who do not normally receive mailings from the Honorary Secretary and who wish to attend this meeting should write, indicating their intention to be present, before 23 February to:

Harry Helyar
Honorary Secretary
IBM Hursley Retired Employees' Club
69 Springvale Road
Kingsworthy
HANTS
SO23 7ND

In response to members' requests, the agenda will include an update on the pensions issue. Speakers have been invited from North Harbour.

Applications to attend MUST BE MADE IN WRITING. Please DO NOT TELEPHONE Harry Helyar.

AND FINALLY KEEP US INFORMED

Remember that if you change your email address to let us know via the Registration Form on the website. We do not want to lose contact with you!

Yours sincerely

The C-Planners' Steering Group

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