Dear Member

You may have read that a Canadian security company called GardaWorld has offered to buy all the shares in G4S. If the shareholders accept their offer, G4S would be owned by GardaWorld. The Scheme would continue as before but GardaWorld would ultimately become responsible for funding the scheme.

At this time there is no certainty that a transaction will be completed.

The purpose of this letter is to reassure you that the Trustee is actively engaged with GardaWorld on your behalf to understand its proposals for ensuring that, if the takeover is completed, the future funding of the Scheme is secure. The Trustee has a team of advisers who are leaders in their field who will work with the Trustee with the purpose of achieving the best possible outcome for scheme members and beneficiaries

The Trustee is focused on understanding how any change of ownership would impact the future financial position of the Scheme and, if necessary, what measures could be put in place to ensure that the Scheme is not adversely impacted if the takeover should happen.

About the Scheme
It is important to remember that the money held in the Scheme to pay benefits that become due, such as pensions, is held under trust. This means that it is totally separate from G4S and, should GardaWorld’s bid be successful, would be totally separate from GardaWorld.

The last valuation of the Scheme was undertaken in 2018 and this showed that the GSL Section was in surplus relative to its 'technical provisions' (i.e. a prudent estimate of the amount of money needed to pay members' benefits as they fall due). Whilst there were deficits in the Group 4 and Securicor Sections, recovery plans were put in place that are intended to restore both sections to full funding on this basis by 2024.

The latest estimates provided by the Scheme's actuary suggest that the GSL Section remains in surplus and the recovery plans in place for the other two sections remain broadly on track. As part of its discussions with GardaWorld, the Trustee is looking to understand how GardaWorld propose to fund the Scheme in the event that the takeover proceeds.

Further information
If there are any general updates, we will post them on our web page, which is: www.g4s.com/g4sps

If there are any significant updates, we will write to you again to provide you with all of the relevant information.

In the meantime, we enclose a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which we hope will provide you with some answers to the most likely questions arising from the current situation.

If you have any further questions not covered off by this supplement, please call our helpline on 0345 120 0900. The helpline will take a note of your question and make sure that someone gets back to you. Alternatively, you can email g4spensions@capita.co.uk. If you email, it would be helpful if you could include “GardaWorld” in the subject.

Yours sincerely
Allan Course
Chair of the Trustee of the G4S Pension Scheme

Download the letter here (PDF 189.7 KB)