CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS

GMP EQUALISATION

In March 2026, the Chair of the Group Trustee wrote to those active and deferred members who are affected by Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) equalisation about some proposed changes. The changes are linked to the GMP part of your pension, and an ongoing project called ‘GMP equalisation’, which all pension schemes like the Group have to carry out.

The Group Trustee is required to run a consultation with members about the proposed changes. The consultation will run from early March 2026 to 30 April 2026.

On this page, you’ll find key dates as well as information about what’s happening and what you need to do. You’ll also find contact information to provide feedback on the proposal.

Further information:

Read an overview of what’s happening.
Find answers to your questions.

Please refer to the letter you were sent in March for the key dates to be aware of. This is the current timeline and may be subject to change.

Early March 2026:

Letters sent to affected members explaining the proposal.
Consultation on GMP proposal starts.

30 April 2026:

Consultation ends.

Mid-May 2026:

The outcome of the consultation is published on the Group website.

Early 2027:

If the GMP proposal goes ahead, benefit statements will be issued. This will show any change to your Group pension after addressing the historical GMP inequality.

Mid-2027:

Your new pension takes effect, if you retire after this date.
If you retire before the changes take effect, we’ll still need to address the historical GMP historical inequality and simplify your pension in line with our proposal, but this will happen at a later date.
Note: If you receive a retirement quotation from Broadstone before the changes take effect, it will not reflect the proposed changes set out in this letter.

This section provides more information about GMP equalisation/conversion.

The two elements at the heart of these pension changes are:

Addressing inequality
Following the outcome of a High Court legal case, UK pension schemes like the Group need to address an inequality relating to some historical GMP benefits. (See ‘What is GMP?’ below.) This may affect your Group pension, although your Group pension will not reduce as a result of the changes.
Simplifying pensions
We’re also proposing to convert all GMPs in the Group into a different form of pension, which will enable us to simplify the Group’s benefit structure.

What is GMP?
Part of your Group pension is GMP, which is a substitute for part of the old State Pension arrangement. You would have received this part of your pension from the Government, had you not been a member of the Group.

Please see the GMP Q&As for answers to your questions.

Consulting with you
As part of the GMP conversion process, the Group Trustee is required to consult with those members affected.

This is your opportunity to ask questions and provide any feedback.

The consultation period will end on 30 April 2026.

Please see the 'Contacts' below for how to provide feedback during the consultation.

After consultation
Following the consultation, the Group Trustee will decide whether to move forward with GMP conversion. We’ll publish a news update on the website to confirm the outcome of the consultation. If you’re registered online, we’ll email you to let you know when the outcome is available.

Please make sure you understand the proposal and what this might mean for your Group pension:

The letter, which was sent to affected active and deferred members, explains the proposal, the key dates in the process you need to be aware of and the arrangements we’ve put in place to consult with you.
The letter includes a ‘Questions and Answers’ document that contains more information about GMPs and the Group Trustee’s proposal. In particular, we would like to draw your attention to questions 6 and 7. These explain how your pensio n may change if the proposal goes ahead.
There’s an online GMP Q&A which will be updated during the consultation period should any additional information be helpful.
Keep up to date with the GMP equalisation project on the ‘Latest news’ page.

Remember
If the proposal goes ahead, there’ll be no reduction to your expected pension at your normal pension age, nor will it impact your death benefits. Some members’ pensions may increase slightly.

Consultation feedback
Before a decision is made on how to proceed, the Group Trustee is consulting with you about the proposed method for addressing the historical GMP inequality. This is your opportunity to ask questions and provide any feedback on the proposed approach.

The consultation period will last for around 60 days and ends on 30 April 2026.

The Group Trustee will carefully consider all relevant comments received about the proposed changes during the consultation period.

The Q&A sent to you in March 2026 and the online GMP Q&A are designed to cover common questions affected Group members may have on GMP conversion and GMP equalisation. However, you may want to contact us if:

you wish to provide feedback on our proposal by 30 April 2026; or
you have specific Lifetime Allowance or pension tax issues, as mentioned in the letter sent to you in March 2026 and in question 11 in the accompanying Q&A and the online GMP Q&A.

Email: ngeg@broadstone.co.uk

Post: 02476 472540

Telephone: Broadstone, Rye Hill Office Park, Birmingham Rd, Coventry, CV5 9AB.

General queries
If you have a general query about the Group or your benefits, please get in touch with Broadstone in the usual way using the details above. Please also see the supporting information on the ‘Useful contacts’ page.