Staff at the UK arm of National Australia Bank have agreed a swathe of reforms to their pensions schemes as the firm looks to drive down costs across its operations.
At the heart of the changes is a switch from final salary pension entitlement to a less lucrative ‘career average’ scheme. To accompany the changes, NAB has offered to make a one-off payment of GBP100 million to reduce the deficit in its company pension fund.
Employees will build up pension benefits year on year in ‘blocks’, dependent on annual salary, the bank says. NAB says that 82% of staff at its Clydesdale operation voted in favor of the change in a ballot, while at the Yorkshire Bank this figure was 63%.