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As in previous years, the Trustee and its advisors are hosting a Town Hall meeting for members of the STMicroelectronics(Bristol) Retirement Benefit Scheme on 17 December 2020 from 18:00 to 20:00​.

In light of the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, we are clearly unable to host an in person event as we have done in recent years. We will therefore be using Zoom to host the meeting virtually. While this is not ideal the Trustee believes members value Town Hall style meetings as they offer an opportunity to interact with the Trustee and feel it is the best option for the Trustee to provide members with an insight into what they have been up to over the past year. The Trustee will including some updates about ongoing matters in relation to the Scheme itself, as well as some wider news on pensions. The Town Hall meetings also provide members with the opportunity to directly address questions to the Trustee.​

For those members who are unable to join the call, we do intend to share a recording of the event. ​ Members are invited to table questions in advance, with further opportunity to ask questions on the day.​

Full details of the event can be found below.​ We hope that you are able to attend this meeting and we look forward to talking with you.

Town hall details:

Date: 17 December 2020

Time: 18:00 to 20:00

To join the presentation:

Register here This link will take you to an Isio Webinar Registration page. We recommend this is completed in advance of the meeting.

Alternatively you can go to https://zoom.us/join and enter the Meeting ID: 999 5847 7328 Members may submit questions in advance by emailing STMPensions@isio.com or by submitting questions via a chat box functionality within Zoom on the day.

The meeting will be run as a webinar so the chat box will be the only method of communication to the presenters at the meeting. Following the meeting the Trustee will make a recording available on this website.

Phil Morris, who has been a Company Appointed Trustee Director since 2000 and acted as Chair to the Trustee, has stepped down from the Board after leaving his position with ST NV.

We are pleased to tell you that Diane O’Lonehas subsequently joined the Trustee Board as a new Company Appointed Trustee Director with effect from September 2020.

Diane works in Human Resources at STMicroelectronics (Research & Development) Limited (“ST R&D”) Edinburgh. ST R&D is the Scheme’s legal sponsor. Like all Trustee Directors, Diane is appointed to represent all Scheme members.

Thanks to Phil Morris who was a Director for 20 years and has taken on the role of Chair over that time, amassing a great amount of knowledge about the Scheme and Trustee Director’s role. He has taken the lead in many challenging discussions over the years and had built a great wealth of valuable experience in doing so. We would like to thank him for all his hard work over the years and wish him well for the future.

As a result of Phil’s resignation, a new Chair of the Trustee Board had to be elected. The Chair is elected by nomination among all Trustee Directors and we are plesed to announce that the Trustee Board have elected Jonathan Edwards as the new Chair.

As a result of the call for a new 'Member Nominated
Director' made in April following the untimely death 
of Brendan O'Connor, the Trustee is pleased to announce 
that Rick Chapman has been elected unopposed to fill 
the vacant position.

Rick will serve for a term of 4 years as a trustee of 
the scheme and brings a wealth of experience to the role 
having previously served as a company appointed Trustee 
to the scheme (1997 to 2001).

Rick looks forward to representing the interests of all 
members of the scheme and we welcome him as the Scheme's
latest Trustee.

Following the untimely death of the scheme’s Member Nominated Director: Brendan O’Connor, there is a need for scheme members to nominate a new Member Nominated Director to serve as a trustee.

The Trustee is therefore requesting nominations for a Member Nominated Director (“MND”)  for the Scheme.

Please note that if you, or another member of the Scheme that you may know, wishes to nominate himself or herself for this position, the deadline for submitting the complete nomination information is Friday 22 May 2020.

Full details are available in the attached document.

Member Nominated Trustee Directors: April 2020

Covid-19 Update

As the coronavirus outbreak continues, the spread of Covid-19 will have a meaningful impact on our communities and on the way businesses operate up and down the country. This post is intended to inform you how the Trustee of the STMicroelectronics (Bristol) Retirement Benefit Scheme and its administrators, Isio, are responding to these unusual circumstances.

In terms of the day to day operation of the Scheme, the Isio Business Continuity Plan is now in operation and the Trustee has confidence in its resilience. Isio are tracking the situation and will introduce additional measures, in line with specialist advice, if necessary.

Isio’s priority is to ensure continuity of service to the Scheme. Their payroll, treasury and other systems are capable of being operated by staff working remotely and these systems have been tested, such that we can reassure you that the payment of benefits to Scheme members will continue uninterrupted in this period.  We will ensure that sufficient cash is held within the Scheme’s bank account to meet expected benefit payments over an extended period, longer than standard Scheme practice. Work is being strictly prioritised – ensuring that the vital elements of the Scheme administration are protected, even in the face of expected staff shortages.

Naturally Isio are adhering to Government guidelines in all operational matters (remote working, social distancing, etc.).  While this is the right thing to do, it does cause some delays in retrieving physical post and also limits their ability to return post. Accordingly, and in accordance with advice from the Pensions Regulator, the Scheme is prioritising benefit payments, retirement processing and bereavement services. This means that some of the less essential tasks we routinely deliver will be delayed. We ask members for their patience but will try to accommodate their requests as much as possible.

To assist our administrators at Isio at this difficult time, if your query can wait, we’d be grateful if you could get back in touch with them in a month or two when they’ll be pleased to help. Of course if your query is urgent, for example if you are planning on retiring from the Scheme in the next couple of months, please let them know and they will respond to you as quickly as they are able. Alternatively, if you have a quick query that you would like to discuss over the phone, please call them on the normal number (+44 (0)118 338 4399). If your enquiry is urgent then please provide them with your email address, if you have not already done so.

Finally, as the preparation of paper payslips requires Isio staff members to access their offices, the mailing of these payslips will be delayed until such time as a return to office working is sanctioned by the Government.  This does not affect the timeliness of pension payments themselves.

In terms of the longer term impact on the Scheme and its funding position due to the exceptional volatility of markets in these difficult times, we would note that:

• The investment strategy adopted by the Trustee provides a significant level of protection against the volatile market movements that have been observed;
• Given the above, and the long-term nature of the Scheme’s liabilities, the Trustee will not be trying to second guess short term market movements by making knee-jerk reactions;
• The Trustee’s current priority, with Isio, is to ensure that members’ benefits can be paid and their queries answered as best as possible while the coronavirus outbreak continues.

From 2nd March 2020 the company providing administation for the STMicroelectronics (Bristol) Retirement Benefit Scheme on behalf of the Trustee changed from KPMG LLP to ISIO.

ISIO is the result of KPMG’s decision earlier this year to establish its pension advisory practive as a separate company. This new separate business is now called ISIO.

Apart from the formal change in the company administering the Scheme there is no substantive impact. The Scheme will continue to be administered in the same way and by the same pensions professionals as peviously, the existing KPMG staff we are used to dealing with having transferred into the new company.  There are minor changes to the contact details of the administrators:

If future please use the email address below to communicate with the admisistrators of the Scheme regarding any queries you may have in connection with your pension

STMPensions@isio.com

You will be aware that KPMG LLP used to hold and process personal data about scheme members and other beneficiaries in order to be able to carry out its duties in respect of the Scheme on behalf of the Trustee. With the agreement of the Trustee this data is transferred to ISIO to enable them to continue their administration of the Scheme as previously. Rest assured that this data will only be processed in accordance with the relevant data protection legislation and used only for the purposes of administering the Scheme.

If you have any queries in connection with this change of administrator please contact:

Matt Dye in writing at:
ISIO,
2 Forbury PLace,
33 Forbury Road,
Reading,
RG1 3AD

Telephone: 01183 384399

or via email at:

STMPensions@isio.com

Members Newsletter – December 2019

Town Hall Meeting 2019 – Slides

Town Hall Meeting 2019 – Q&A

The 2019 Governance Statement for the STMicroelectronics (Bristol) Retirement Benefits Scheme may be downloaded (pdf) by clicking on the link below:

The Chairs Statement