OPF, the €950m pension fund of copier manufacturer Océ, is planning to join the €31.6bn metal scheme PME on 1 January 2014.

To provide its 8,250 participants with a good starting position, employer Canon is willing to grant them an additional contribution, according to the scheme.

This “dowry” is to account for the effect of the rights cut of almost 4.1% last August, it added.

OPF said the scale of the employer’s donation, as well as the rights to be transferred to PME, would depend on the pension fund’s financial position at year-end.

Currently, OPF and Canon are in consultations with PME and the social partners.

They still need the approval of the scheme’s participant council and the Dutch regulator.

As of the end of August, OPF’s coverage ratio was 103.1%, thanks to the recent rights discount and an additional employer’s contribution of €91m.

In June, the scheme’s coverage was 88.8%.

PME reported coverage of 98.5% in August.

The metal scheme has more than 632,000 participants affiliated with almost 1,300 employers.

Its required minimum funding at the end of this year is 105%.

Topics