By James Daley
Published: 22 January 2008
The oil giant BP has become the latest major company to freeze contributions into its pension fund, following in the footsteps of its main rival, Royal Dutch Shell, which sparked controversy when it revealed it was taking a so-called “pensions holiday” in October last year.
David Nicholas, a spokesman for BP, confirmed yesterday that the company would not be making any contributions to its £27bn pension fund in 2008, after the scheme’s latest actuarial valuation, in October last year, revealed that it was funded to 135 per cent of its liabilities, on an IAS 19 basis.
“Under the agreement bet-ween the trustees and the company, if the funding level goes over the 115 per cent level at its annual valuation, the company is not compelled to make a contribution to the fund,” he said. “If it has fallen back to below 115 per cent at its next annual valuation, in October, the company will resume contributions in 2009.”
Although both BP and Shell remain within their rights to freeze contributions when their schemes are in surplus, the move has raised alarm bells among pension fund trustees across the country, who fear a repeat of the events of the 1990s, when many companies took pension contribution holidays, only to see their surpluses wiped out by the bear market between 2000 and 2003, during which time the level of the FTSE 100 more than halved.
BP’s scheme is likely to have already fallen back below the 115 per cent funding threshold, after the rout in equity markets in recent weeks.
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article3359103.ece
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
