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The study looked at Shell employees who retired at age 55, 60 and 65, between 1973 and 2003. It covered approximately 3,500 people over the 30-year period. Basically, the mortality rate of those who retired at 55 (adjusted for health factors) was twice that of their still-working colleagues.
Click to continue reading “Retiring early? You may not want to bet your life on it.”
The fund said in a letter sent to its members this week that its funding ratio — a measure of how well a pension scheme can meet its liabilities — was 85 percent at the end of November, down from 180 percent at the end of 2007. A full copy of the letter is published on activist website royaldutchshellplc.com.
Click to continue reading “Shell’s pension underfunded, contributions must rise”
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s (RDSB.LN) pension fund has fallen into deficit after the big drop in global equities markets caused by the financial crisis and economic downturn, a spokesman for the company said Friday.
Click to continue reading “Shell Pension Fund In Deficit After Equity Market Fall -Co”
The total value of the pension fund’s investments plummeted 40% since the start of this year. At the same time, lower interest rates resulted in a significant increase in the pension obligations.
Click to continue reading “Shell pension funding level drops below legal limit”
Fri Dec 12, 2008 2:05pm GMT: LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s Dutch pension fund has fallen into deficit as share market turmoil knocked 40 percent off the fund’s value, forcing the oil major and employees to increase contributions.
Since you have kindly recently answered questions raised by me on other subjects, I feel sure you will want to deal with this matter which is of great concern to Shell pensioners. You might also wish to comment on the related posting by former Shell exec Mr Paddy Briggs.
And Mr. Donovan, you seem to have a direct line to Wiseman. Perhaps you could ask him to confirm or otherwise the rumour I have picked up a few weeks ago that Shell in this credit crisis has borrowed money from the Pensionfund or made the Pensionfund invest in some projects. If that is correct, I would like to see the opinion of Mr Wiseman on the ethics of this. No doubt it is within the law, but is it ethical?
LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc said its Dutch pension fund had fallen into deficit as share market turmoil knocked 40 percent off the fund’s value, forcing the oil major and employees to increase contributions.
Click to continue reading “Shell pension underfunded, contributions to rise”
I would like to draw your attention to postings made today on our website in relation to Shell Pensioners.
POSTING ON “SHELL LIVE CHAT” BY A SHELL PENSIONER, Thursday 11 December 2008
I just received a letter from Shell Pensionfund (dutch) that the coverage has dropped to 85% (Dutch legal limit is 105%). About a year ago it was around 170% I believe.
Some amateurs have been gambling with the fund and now there is a huge shortfall. I still have the letters of the past where they were congratulating themselves with the good management and strategies… And no doubt cashing in big bonusses. Why did nobody convert shares to bonds when there was this enormous surplus? That would be good husbandry. But like other Shell functions, it always has to be better and more.
First the stupid reorganisation of the nineties, then the reserves scandal, then the projects scandals, now the pensionfunds. And as a retiree there is nothing one can do.
: Dear IMBer, or IBMer, or whatever - if you can explain to me the difference between the two quoted press release examples of geophysical applications in reasoned scientific terms, I shall be more than happy to admit to being a amateur geophysicist (not geologist). Perhaps it is you who is confused. Geophysics and Geology are not the same - close bed fellows, yes - but not the same. If so, then it is you who should get out your needles, wool and get on with "one plain, two purl" rather than embarking on such a commentary.
: Shellwaarbenjijnu has no clue what he/she is talking about. Probably some amateur geologist who wants to be important on the blog. Try to stick to your knitting!
: Paying over 7 mln $ to get rid of this monster of a woman shows how deeply Shell has sunk. She was a stealer of ideas. She was the ultimate token woman, a disgrace to her gender and it has put off many high quality women to pursue a career in Shell. Her disgusting behaviour of being the slave of Watts was evident to all. This latest scandal makes it clear she should never have been promoted to were she ended up. Another costly mistake of Shell. And the top echelon? They know no shame anymore and carry on with more spin stories as usual.
: Perhaps Voser will pull the same trick on Brinded as Watts did on v.d.Vijver. Watts announced that reserves would grow by 5% and that Walter would explain how.... The rest is history. I can only hope that history will repeat itself and Brinded finally gets fired for his gross underperformance and sustained bullshit. Perhaps I have said so before: never trust a man with facial hair.... I shall be watching the announcements how they will increase production with great interest.
: THE ARTICLE "Donovan email to Gavin White, Shell International Limited: 10 March 2010" has been updated with a self-explanatory email reply received on 11 March from Richard Wiseman, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
: The Forbes article implies that by stopping sales of gasoline to Iran, Shell is complying with US sanctions. Shell's investments in the upstream sector in Iran are not mentioned, even though these are of far greater significance for both Shell and the Iranians.
: Amnesty International has been an informed and courageous critic of Human Rights abuses around the world for many decades and they are certainly not adverse to criticising governments in Nigeria, Burma, Zimbabwe and all around the world. The point about international companies like Shell is that they have a choice. They are not obliged to operate anywhere if they find that the local conditions are in conflict with their principles. Amnesty’s recent criticisms of Shell have certainly been strong and I am aware that in Shell there is a feeling that they have been unfair and to some extent uninformed. So a dialogue between Amnesty and Shell is very much to be welcomed. Amnesty is a highly respected organisation – indeed a former top executive of Shell, Sir Geoffrey Chandler, was a senior officer of Amnesty in his post Shell years.
: Same old, same old. Amnesty International and their human rights again go for the soft underbelly of the international companies rather than the real problem in Nigeia which is their corrupt Government. Good on Shell for attending and agrreing to being questioned. BUT, surprise, surprise nobody from the Nigerian Government (perhaps they didn't get enough of a bribe to appear or perhaps Amnesty knew they would get nowhere with them). Pollution in the Niger Delta remains a problem, albeit that conditions are slowly improving. Living conditions, infrastructure and most other normal day-to-day things should be the responsibility of the corrupt Government not international oil companies. These evil governments such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Burma need to be bought down by the UN so that their people might have a better chance of a reasonable life.
: Very polite correspondence between Wiseman and the Donovans. I estimate Wiseman's hourly internal tariff at around 500 U$ per hour (his salary plus support plus extensive overheads). Over the years Shell must have spent a fortune discussing the Donovans, putting the most expensive lawyers on the case, and developing policy how to battle them. It becomes Churchillian: 'we will fight them on the web, and in the courtrooms, and in their own offices and on the streets. But we wil NEVER surrender. With unlimited funds this maybe so, but it is wasting shareholders money and it solves nothing. I do not see the Donovans give up anytime soon. So perhaps a new paradigm needs to be developed? Any ordinary man or woman at the coalface would solve this problem within minutes and for less money than what is being burned now. But the Shell kings are no ordinary people, they live in cloud cuckoo land. I will keep following with great interest how all this develops, it is even better than the daily Dilbert!!!
: W.E. Pratt knew it already a hundred years ago when he said "Oil is found in the minds of men" But he was one of the founders of the Standard Oil company, whereas the people who try to make us believe that IBM can come to the rescue of Shell appear to be only good at getting rid of their most experienced minds.
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