The Dutch pension fund of US chemicals giant Chemours plans to transfer its pension rights for its participants to a general pension fund (APF) and an insurer.

The €1bn scheme had previously decided that it wanted to move its pensions provision after following affiliated company DePont Nederland outsourced pensions for its 400 employees to Belgium.

At 2018-end, Pensioenfonds Chemours had 3,400 participants, 500 of whom were workers. This was down from 900 before DuPont staff were transferred.

Since the pension fund closed its average salary plan to new entrants in 2013, new employees have accrued defined contribution (DC) pensions. Low-cost DC vehicle Be Frank has been Chemours’ provider since 1 January, although the transfer of assets has yet to be completed.

According to Frans Dorsten, the scheme’s chair, the decision to transfer employees’ pensions to an APF was based on the fact that this participant group had almost been fully compensated for inflation.

However, deferred members and pensioners, whose pension rights were to be outsourced to an insurer, had incurred significant indexation in arrears as different rules applied to them, Dorsten said.

Placing their pension rights with an insurer would make it easier to compensate for the indexation shortfall, the chairman said.

Last March, the funding level of Pensioenfonds Chemours stood at 125%.

Dorsten said that the transfer of the pension assets was scheduled for this year. He added that the board was still in discussions with all parties involved, and was still waiting for quotes.

The scheme’s current pensions provider is Inadmin RiskCo, while asset management has been outsourced to BlackRock and Pimco.

L&G’s pension fund eyes liquidation

Scildon, the €60m Dutch pension fund of financial services giant Legal & General (L&G), is to liquidate if its sponsor forces through a plan to switch to a DC plan.

On its website, the scheme said it wouldn’t have a future if the employer picked another provider for DC arrangements.

The pension fund’s accountability body has responded positively to the sponsor’s plan.

According to the board, the employer wanted to make a decision in May and would to consult the scheme’s 180 active participants in June.

At the end of March, the pension fund’s coverage ratio stood at 112.2%.

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