Back to news 25 November 2013

Company contributions to Thomson Reuters pension schemes

Thomson Reuters said in its third-quarter earnings announcement on October 29, 2013 that it planned to make contributions of approximately $500 million to its US and UK defined benefit pension plans in the fourth quarter of 2013.

It said that the Company expects the overall funded status of the plans to exceed 90% based on current market conditions. This includes the first material contribution to the US pension plan in ten years.

Members of Reuters Pension Fund (RPF) and Reuters Supplementary Pension Scheme (SPS) have asked how this affects their plans. The Trustees of the two schemes therefore requested a clarification from Thomson Reuters. In response, the Company said:

"Over the ten year period since the company last made a contribution to its US pension plan (2003), Thomson Reuters and its predecessor Reuters Limited have made cash contributions totalling over $600 million to the RPF and SPS, all as agreed with the respective Trustees and in connection with various funding and other agreements."

The Company said it would be making a small contribution to The Thomson Corporation PLC Pension Scheme (TTC) as part of the formal funding agreement and deficit recovery plan recently reached between the Company and this scheme's Trustee. TTC is the legacy Thomson Corporation scheme in the UK.

Therefore the RPF and SPS schemes are not affected by the Company's announcement.