You might notice that Spotlight looks a little different this year. That’s because we’ve made some updates to make it a more efficient and engaging read. You’ll find all the articles here on the website with all the relevant information that you need.
It’s been a busy year since the last time we wrote to you. The global economy is continuing to feel the impact of geo-political tensions, which brings increased volatility in investment markets, higher inflation levels and puts added pressure on many people's finances. We pay close attention to how external factors might impact the Plan and make any changes needed to safeguard it in the best interests of our members.
In the last year, some schemes experienced significant challenges as a result of volatility in the gilt market. There were reports of pension funds 'collapsing' in the economic turbulence. However, rather than bringing any real risk of collapse, this market volatility led to short-term liquidity issues for some pension schemes. We're pleased to tell you that the Plan hasn’t suffered any long-term effects of that period and remains financially strong despite the volatility of the economic climate. This is due to the long-term investment strategy adopted by the Trustee of the Plan, which includes the Buy-In with Rothesay for the benefits of the DCL Section of the Plan, which we reported on last year.
Earlier this year the administrator of the Dow Services Section of the Plan, Capita, was impacted by a cyber incident. More information on this can be found on our homepage, as well as later in the newsletter, including how to stay safe from pension scams. We have already written to any member whose data was potentially at risk from this incident.
For an update on the financial position of the Plan, you can refer to our latest Summary Funding Statement, which includes information on the funding position as of 31 December 2022.
Additionally, we provide a summary of the year's accounts and membership figures as well as the latest on the Plan's investments.
In wider news, we provide an update on Pensions Dashboards, an initiative that aims to provide people with online access to all of their UK pensions in one place, the Government’s latest review of State Pension Age, and the 2023 spring budget. If you have any questions about the Plan or your benefits, or you have a topic you want to see covered in our next issue, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can find our contact details here.
Andrew Jones
Chair of the Trustee