Pension cuts expected at BMI

Lufthansa is planning to transfer the BMI British Midland’s pension scheme to the UK’s Pension Protection Fund, the UK government-mandated, private sector-financed insurance scheme for underfunded pension schemes of insolvent employers. Lufthansa had proposed retaining responsibility for the BMI pension scheme after the sale of the airline to International Airlines Group but was shot down by the UK’s Pensions Regulator. The BMI scheme has a large deficit, estimated at £180m in 2010, although Lufthansa confirmed that BMI pension liabilities worth €153m would remain with the German airline. The PPF will assess the BMI scheme to see whether it has sufficient