CAMBRIDGE DISTRICT PENSIONERS’ CLUB
Tel: 01954 202095/07515 534430 Cynthia George
Email: Secretary
18 Over Road, Willingham
December 2014 Cambridge CB24 5EU
2014 NEWSLETTER
Members attending the Autumn Lunch at Haverhill Golf Club
It’s that time again – yes, Christmas is fast approaching and likewise the annual newsletter and jottings from me.
Your club has provided another year of events which in the main have been very well supported. The theatre trips once again proved to be one of the most popular aspects of our programme:
- The first London show went away from the musical theme and was “One Man, Two Guvnors”.
- Our second show was an evening event at Norwich to see the Robin Cousins Ice Show.
- The final theatre visit was to “Evita” in the West End.
All our outdoor/summer visits are always enjoyable too. This year they included:
- a visit to Kew Gardens. A very interesting place with so much to see.
- A tour round some of the London Olympic sites including a ride on The Orbit.
- We have also been to Holkham Hall in Norfolk and a return visit to Buckingham Palace.
Closer to home our lunches and coffee mornings are also proving to be a hit. In particular mention should be made of the Autumn Lunch, again at Haverhill Golf Club, which a large number of you enjoyed, with the Christmas Lunch at The Belfry, Cambourne. The Coffee Mornings were at our popular venues of Anglesey Abbey and Scotsdales Garden Centre(Cambridge) but any ideas for new venues would always be helpful.
Mustn’t finish this section without mention of the Belgian trip to Tournai organised as usual by Peter Mitton. Another interesting and enjoyable short break.
Any feedback on this year’s programme or ideas for future events is always welcome.
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Committee Members/Welfare Officers: At the AGM in April a new Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer were elected; all other committee members and welfare officers had agreed to continue in their roles and were re-elected.
The current officers/committee members and welfare officers are:
Officers:Chairman
Vice-Chairman
Honorary Secretary
Honorary Treasurer / John Senior
Patrick Hall
Cynthia George
Diane Cook / Committee Members:
All Officers and
Peter Chilvers
Malcolm Douse
Lynda Galloway
Yvonne James / Maureen Kimberley
John King
Cyril Lumley
Peter Mitton
Rosemary Watson / Welfare Officers:
All the committee members and
Mike Blois
Pensioners’ Clubs Annual Briefing – 27th November: Lynda Galloway and I attended this Briefing Day at the end of November, or, more accurately, morning only. Lynda kindly volunteered to drive; however, was this the correct decision? Two ladies trying to enter Canary Wharf not unusual... We were stopped and the car comprehensively scanned for anything suspect! Were we suspected terrorists?? Eventually we were “let loose” so we did get to the meeting… hence I am able to report on the happenings, rather than being “arrested” - although this may have been more exciting. We will never know!!
Lynne Atkin, HR Director for Personal and Corporate Banking, welcomed everyone. It was interesting thatwe thought the attendance seemed to be down on other years.
Chairman’s Address: Sir David Walker opened his address by saying he was pleased to have this opportunity to meet many of the bank pensioners. Despite the share price being fractionally lower today than this time last year he felt much more confident where the Bank is now than a year ago. He will be standing down in a few months but following some changes he is confident there is a good Board leading Barclays although feels there is one deficiency, not enough ladies on the Board.
One problem he highlighted for Barclays and the whole industry is making a decent return for its shareholders, with the need to re-establish trust with customers, staff and society as a whole. He believes the Bank has a good strong relationship with the UK Retirement Fund.
He said that in 2015 Barclays celebrates 325 years in banking which is a great achievement.
There were also presentations by: Vi Davida, Barclays Investor Relations; Kevin Abbott from the UK Retirement Fund and Steven Cooper, CEO of Personal Banking.
Vi Davida – Barclays Update: This update was complex and detailed. The core business, both Corporate and Personal, continues to benefit from steady growth with Barclaycard being the highest returning business in the sector. The core business saw returns at 10.5% year on year. Non-core business made a good start and with the disposal of the Spanish retail businesses this will take exposure down.
Kevin Abbott, UK Retirement Fund: The Fund’s first responsibility is to ensure all pensioners’ entitlements are paid as they fall due and, secondly, the Fund is managed to meet all regulations and other requirements.
The key challenges are:
Future Inflation
Longevity expectations – in 1964 the average life expectancy for a male at age 60 was 17 years, now this is 28 years; for a female in 1964 this was 22 years, now 30 years.
The Fund’s income comes from two sources, investments and contributions from Barclays. Past performance is no guarantee for the future but Kevin said it is appropriate to take a moment to congratulate the investment team for its impressive performance. The funding level is better than three years ago but not good enough that is why the Bank has agreed to further funding contributions.
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The new pension changes taking effect from April 2015 giving more freedom, choice and flexibility do not apply to existing pensioners, only new retirees.
Kevin said there are ongoing regulation and market challenges but the Fund has
- Strong governance
- Strong employer support
- Strong operating policy
Steven Cooper, CEO, Personal Banking: A changing world. “One size no longer fits all branches”. Digital is here and happening now!
Mobile Banking: two years ago it did not exist, now very fast moving. The debit card can be used (swipe it!) to travel on the Tube. There is more choice for our customers in the way we do business – apps on phones, pay a cheque in over an IPhone. More transparency, ie, advice of cost before incurring a fee.
The physical branch network is changing, ie, putting technology into our branches, assisted cashier counters, cashiers now “Community Bankers”, branches in Asda stores (going well). Virtual Banking – Sky Branches, this is video banking with web chats (able to talk to a member of staff via this link). We experienced a live transmission from a “Sky Branch” in Sunderland! This will evolve to 24/7 in time. With digital technology customers can make payments via phone, video, Pingit. “Digital Eagles” will be available to help people to become confident to use digital banking. Three “silver” Eagles employed by the bank were present at our meeting, ie, pensioners like you and me!
The way forward is to regain trust and hopefully our performance, which will improve dividend payments.
The morning finished with a Q&A session, four pre-selected questions from clubs – the old chestnuts which I feel not worth repeating here.
“Connection”: On page 7 in the article “Bank the Benefits”, “Health – AXA PPP”, clarification has been received as to the eligibility criteria. To quote “To benefit from preferential terms, a pensioner would need to apply within three months of retiring from active service. This option continues to be offered to active members at the time they retire as part of the retirement communications they receive.” This does not affect existing healthcare arrangements that pensioners already have in place with AXA PPP. An update will be included in the next edition of Connection.
A reminder that at the back of this magazine there is a “Useful Contacts” section which gives helpful telephone numbers/email addresses and other details which may be handy to keep available in case of need.
“Good-Housekeeping”: A reminder that it is Towers Watson who need to be advised of any changes to bank account details, new postal address, email address etc.
Welfare: If you, or a member you know, is in need of help on the welfare front or is unfortunately not too well, then please let your allocated Welfare Officer know or get in touch with me. Again, the “grapevine” is often our only way of knowing when a phone call might be very acceptable – we don’t wish to be intrusive but we are here to help.
That’s all for this year (I can hear a sigh of relief for those who have braved it to the end of this rambling) which I hope you will have found interesting, informative and useful. Let me know if you have ideas for future events – you have my email/phone numbers or you will see me at many of the events.
Very Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year
Cynthia
Cynthia George – Secretary
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