Hans-Gerd Zielinski, retiree from AEG Telefunken Nachrichtentechnik
1. What is the role of the company pension scheme for you as a retired person?
Occupational pensions can make all the difference in retirement. You can only be reasonably secure with this second pension. I started working for AEG-Telefunken in Backnang in 1975 when I graduated. Even during the job interview, AEG-Telefunken advertised its well-funded company pension scheme. The administration of the pension scheme was integrated into the parent company, AEG-Telefunken, as was customary at the time.
2. What kind of experience have you had with the management of your company pension scheme over the past few years?
The ownership structure of the company I worked for changed several times over the years. So did the company names.
In 1981, AEG-Telefunken left the company and was taken over by Bosch, Mannesmann and Allianz. However, the terms and conditions of our company pension remained the same under the name of ANT Nachrichtentechnik.
In the years that followed, we became Bosch Telecom. In 2000, we became Marconi. In 2006, the shares of Marconi in the UK and Germany were split into two separate companies.
Part of the company was sold to Ericsson, the other part was a rebranding under the name 'telent'. Telent was officially the legal successor to Marconi. As such, it was responsible for the company pensions of employees who had left the company during the Marconi era. Telent therefore continued to manage the occupational pension scheme and the assets required to fund the scheme.
In 2008, telent was acquired by the British Pension Corporation. With the pension specialist as our new parent company, our company pensions were apparently in good hands. However, the new owner did not want to continue its commitment in Germany in the long term. As a result, the active business of telent GmbH was spun off and taken over by the Euromicron Group in 2011. In 2015, the pension company decided to withdraw from the German pension business as well. The intention was to put the German occupational pension business into new hands by means of a tender. The founding fathers of VEDRA Pensions won this tender and have since been responsible for our occupational pensions and the management of plan assets.
3. At the time, what was the most important thing for you? Were there any fears or concerns?
Securing the pensions of those affected was very important. There was a great deal of uncertainty among the people affected - the pensioners - even though the English participants in the pitch confirmed, when we asked them, that the winners were very knowledgeable about the subject. The new managers were new to this business, there were only a handful of people, and we - the German Marconi and telent pensioners - were the first group they had taken under their wing. There was no history to guide us.
4. Have these fears been eased?
A few managers from the period between 2000 and 2011 got in touch with the people in charge at VEDRA Pensions. In a series of personal conversations, they were able to gradually dispel the uncertainties.
5. What is your assessment of VEDRA Pension's management of occupational pension schemes today?
The company's growth over the years in terms of number of employees and clients has ultimately been a catalyst for confidence in the company's policy. The buy-out of occupational pension schemes seems to be picking up speed. The concept of VEDRA Pensions is certainly sound.
In retrospect, we are glad we got it right with the VEDRA Pensions experts. Our occupational pensions are sound.
However, personal contacts are essential. Fortunately, it has now become a tradition for us to meet with a small selection of interested pensioners and the German VEDRA Pensions’ management for an annual Christmas get-together. This gives us first-hand information about the year's news and VEDRA Pensions’ progress.
In my opinion, we are on the right track with VEDRA Pensions.
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