Tata Steel could pay more than £500m into its UK pension scheme as part of a deal with regulators that involves the Pension Protection Fund taking a stake in the business.

The Indian-owned company needs to find a solution to its pension scheme to secure the future of its UK operations, which employs 8,000 workers and includes the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales. Tata Steel is trying to hive off its historic liabilities before merging its European steel operations with German company ThyssenKrupp.

However, talks between Tata Steel and the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund have dragged on for months and sources close to the negotiations say any deal is still a long way from being struck.

Tata has offered to make a one-off payment of £520m into the pension scheme, according to reports in India, in return for it releasing a guarantee that it holds over the company’s assets in Europe.

The scheme, which is called the British Steel pension scheme, has 130,000 members and liabilities of £15bn, making it one of the largest in the country. Trustees for the scheme warned earlier this year that the deficit could rise to between £1bn and £2bn without support from Tata Steel.

Full Content: The Guardian

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