The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

20 October 2006

A new combined pension plan for the nuclear industry has been established by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) following extensive consultation with employers and union representatives. The scheme went live on October 16th when it admitted its first 1,300 members.

The Combined Nuclear Pension Plan (CNPP) will provide final salary benefits for existing employees moving from the public to private sectors as the NDA's competition strategy is implemented. The scheme has been set up by the NDA to meet the requirements of the Energy Act 2004 which guarantee that transferred staff must receive no less favourable treatment than their previous arrangements. New employees of site license companies will benefit from a high quality money purchase pension scheme within the CNPP.

The first members of the CNPP are employees working at the Springfields nuclear plant at Preston who moved into the private sector following the purchase of Springfields Fuels Ltd's parent company by Toshiba. 1,300 Springfield's employees have transferred into the scheme and it is expected that in due course, the CNPP will provide pensions for up to 11,000 of the UK’s nuclear decommissioning workforce.

Peter Vaughan, NDA's Head of Pensions said:

“The nuclear decommissioning industry is facing considerable change over the next few years as the NDA introduces competition for the management of its twenty sites, which include Sellafield, Dounreay, the Magnox power stations, as well as Springfields.

“The CNPP has been established to provide stable, high quality and secure pension arrangements for employees during and beyond those changes. All involved are committed to the CNPP’s success.”