// Thousands of workers with pensions at Arcadia have been told their savings can be salvaged
// Trustees of the Arcadia pension schemes told workers that £173m has been secured to help fund their retirements
// The Arcadia scheme is on course to remain independent of the pensions lifeboat
Thousands of workers with pensions at Arcadia Group have reportedly been offered fresh hope that their savings can be recovered, following the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s empire.
Trustees of the Arcadia pension schemes told workers that £173 million has been secured to help fund their retirements, thanks to a deal agreed in 2019 with the help of the pensions watchdog.
The Arcadia scheme is on course to remain independent of the pensions lifeboat – which protects people with a defined benefit pension when an employer becomes insolvent, but at a reduced level, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
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More money is expected from the sale of the Topshop and Dorothy Perkins brands to Asos and Boohoo respectively for more than £300 million.
The exact figure will depend on how much is recovered through the administration process.
The pension schemes were granted security over £210 million of assets under the terms of a 2019 agreement for a restructuring of Arcadia.
In a letter to scheme members, the trustees said that the schemes had “already received an initial distribution of £173 million from the company” in respect of that security.
Arcadia collapsed into administration last November, putting 13,000 jobs and over 400 shops at risk.
Asos scooped up prized Arcadia fascias Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and athleisure brand HIIT for £330 million earlier this month, while Boohoo bought Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton for £25.2 million.
If the schemes fell into the Pension Protection Fund, savers who are yet to retire would receive only 90 per cent of what they are owed.
The schemes are being assessed by the fund to see whether they will have the assets to fund better deals for savers.
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