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Insight Magazine 55 Autumn 2026

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Inside This Issue (clickable list of contents)
  1. Letter from the Chairman –Autumn 2026
  2. A Bucket List Experience – a story from Alan Dennison
  3. Chevron UK Pensioners Association Annual General Meeting 2026 Sumary of Activities through the year including Finance, Membership & Website Reports, Elections to the Committee
  4. Anyone with medical Insurance?
  5. The UK state pension triple lock
  6. The Last Page

Letter from the Chairman –Autumn 2026

A very strange year in terms of the weather we have all been having! A complete split up and down the country, with the east coast of Scotland joining the south of the UK, in having a [mini] heatwave for months, while in the west of Scotland, it was just WET!

Truth be told, I quite enjoyed it, but my good lady found it far too hot! Right now, by comparison, at the end of September, we are right in the teeth of a south-easterly gale!

Moving on – and it has been a very frustrating summer for us on the pensions front! We have continued to pursue the Company relentlessly on as many fronts as possible but largely with Ms Harriet Wu in San Ramon/Houston and Ashley Sanders in London. We have received [polite but] negative replies on all fronts, which just spurs us on to do even more!

Having had a face-to-face meeting with Ms Wu in Canary Wharf back in the late Spring, we have been taking every chance to stress the difficulties in communicating with – or the total lack of communication with – the Professional Corporate Sole Trustee [IGG], while of course also continuing to stress the absolute necessity of a pension supplementation at the earliest possible opportunity.

As many of you will know, the Chevron Irish Pension Plan is undergoing the ‘consultation process’ right now, prior to probable closure. Foremost I must stress that this Plan is completely different to our own. There are no employees involved. There is no active Chevron company left in the Republic of Ireland. We understand that the terms of the closure are along those lines of an annuity, with provisions for a spouses’ pension and also a small annual increase. For your interest, we will report that result of this ‘consultation’ in due course.

Meanwhile all the committee members have been diligently working away on different aspects of the CUKPA administration, including membership and subscription issues. Even after 26 years, we are still fighting to sort this out and make all the subscriptions right, in the right category!

Some of the findings and connotations are incredible! People paying twice, people not paying at all, people paying in the wrong age category, some people making ‘donations’ as well as subscriptions, people moving without telling us – and with Chris Simes and Peter Young trying to sort them out!

A the same time, Andrew Nisbet is trying to set up, simplify [or something desperately technical anyway], concerning our website and our ability to link all the financial aspects of our business together properly – membership, finance and IT – all very much to the benefit of all!

Meanwhile, Alan Dennison continues to pursue stories from us relentlessly [a bit like the pensions!]. He does very well with the Newsletter, trying to find the right balance between factual information, stories and providing us all with a few laughs along the way!

Steve Ladle on the other hand, has been keeping up with the HPPA alliance and the government issues of the day, which would really try the mind of a Saint, if we could find one! Not too many laughs there!

In addition to the computer roles he has, Andrew Nisbet and Steve Wilson have been continuing to renew, revitalise and replenish the website as well. I think you must agree that it is looking much more topical and now can keep us all updated a great deal better than in the past!

Thank you to those of you who attended our AGM at the Carpenters Arms Pub in London in mid-August, either in person or online. It was very good to have you with us and we really do value your support. We often feel we are working in a bubble on our own and it is good therefore to have members join with us to oversee some of the issues.

Sometimes there can be a plethora of good ideas from our AGM’s and this time was no exception. We gathered a lot of questions/ideas from this meeting, so much so that an additional online committee meeting has been arranged in November to discuss them. In addition, several of the ideas developed during/from that meeting have already been used in our recent letter to the Company.

I am pleased to say that albeit slowly, the rise in Membership fees is making a difference. Unfortunately it always takes a long time for changes in subscriptions to break through. However our Treasurer Peter Young has advised of a small improvement, so we will just have to continue to promote the £15 change for normal membership and hope more people pick up on it.

Earlier I mentioned that Editor Alan Dennison was looking for people/articles with a different perspective on travels, holidays or simply life at home! For instance, my wife and I enjoyed a fantastic day out earlier this year at Perth Museum. Sounds a boring museum visit, not your cup-of-tea – well, with a real cut-price train fare on offer, it need not cost too much at all – and an unexpectedly amazing day out! Even cheaper on the bus, with a little bit of determination! Not an excessive cost, yet you can learn or enjoy so much! Amazing – and I must write an article about this in due course. So please think about your holidays or different things you may have done recently – and drop us a line for the Newsletter! Future ideas for others!

Another request too, rather urgent – as I mentioned at the AGM, we are looking for a perhaps newly-retired or interested IT person to assist Andrew Nisbet in his endeavours with our IT systems. If you feel you can help or would like to help, then please do send us an email to that effect, we would be delighted to hear from you! A job description is outlined below.

In conclusion, I would like to remind you of the Chevron Pensioners meetings in Aberdeen every three months or so, at the Justice Mill pub in Union Street, held on a Thursday from 1400 hours. The next one is on 12 November and if you are interested in attending and have not attended before, please get in touch with Dave Armstrong [dave.armstrong25@gmail.com] to confirm your intention to attend. There is also the strong possibility of a further ‘ex-Texaco’ Chevron pensioners meeting in Aberdeen through the coming winter season. My thanks to Alan Jones of Stonehaven for keeping up with these particular meetings.

I would commend all the Committee members to you, as they all work away diligently in their own areas between meetings in their own time. All very much appreciated. Thank you also to all our CUKPA members for your continued confidence and support!

A Bucket List Experience – a story from Alan Dennison

Did you hear about the shepherd who drove his sheep through town? He was given a ticket for making a ewe turn…

How does the man in the moon get his hair cut? Eclipse it.

Chevron UK Pensioners Association
Annual General Meeting 2026
Sumary of Activities through the year including Finance, Membership & Website Reports, Elections to the Committee

Anyone with medical Insurance?

Have you bothered to check your renewal cost versus a new provider. If you are like me, not wanting to ‘rock the boat’ at our age with medical insurance you just pay the renewal charge hoping it hadn’t gone up too much.

I had been a member of Saga medical insurance for the last 10 plus years since retiring and recently looked at alternatives. I now have a different provider and saved 20% or around £480pa off my premium for the exact same cover. If you are interested get in touch at alan260760@aol.com and I will provide further details upon request.

The UK state pension triple lock

This is a government mechanism ensuring that the state pension increases annually. Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently announced plans to scrap the automatic triple lock by April 2030 to fund a new National Care Service The full rate of new State Pension is £241.30 a week. Your amount could be different depending on:

  • if you were contracted out before 2016
  • the number of National Insurance qualifying years you have
  • if you paid into the Additional State Pension before 2016

The Last Page

CHEVRON UK PENSIONERS’ ASSOCIATIONANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2026

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The Carpenters Arms 12 Seymour Place, London W1H 7NE
11.00am 19 August 2026
MINUTES OF MEETING

INTRODUCTION:
After welcoming all attendees to the meeting, the Chairman (D Alan Higgins) began with a safety moment, as has become customary.

Busy roads during the summer holiday season, with more foreign drivers than normal presents an increased hazard. He asked how many people had read their Highway Code recently, if indeed they had one. Sadly, not many attendees were able to answer positively!

The Chairman gave further welcome comments and asked the meeting to remember those friends and colleagues we have lost during the last 12 months. A short moment of silence then followed.

In this regard, the Chairman stated the problem of there being no easy means of finding out the names of those former colleagues and pensioners that had passed during the previous year. Names had formerly been provided by the company and listed in ‘Retiree News’. This publication is no longer issued. A list would be available from Barnett Waddingham but at an annual cost to the Association of £900. This offer has been declined.
Any suggestions to help with this matter would be very much appreciated.

[If you would like to inform woek colleagues of someone passing you can notify us via the Contact Form and we will place them into the next Newsletter]

DAH then introduced the committee members in turn.
MEMBERS ATTENDING:
AT THE VENUE:
D Alan Higgins (DAH), Alan Dennison (AD) Peter Young (PY) Andrew Nisbet (AGN), Neil Jones (NJ), Chris Simes (CS) Steve Wilson (SW) Steve Ladle (SL), Stuart Hyder ,Carmen Davis, Nick Burrell & Stewart James

VIA ZOOM:
David Low , Alan Leiper, Nigel Cooper, David Way, Peter Fowler, Bruce Weir, Gordon Smith, Richard Sroka, David Leipa, Adam Cowburn & Malcolm Seedhouse

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE:
Grace Shacklady Doug Reoch

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – Held on 8 October 2025
The minutes of the AGM held on 8 October 2025, summarised on the website and dated 8 October 2025 were approved unanimously, proposed by PY seconded by SW. Subsequent to the meeting a hard copy has been signed for the record, by Vice-Chairman (NJ), as being a true account of that meeting.

Matters Arising
There were 2 items raised as ‘matters arising’ from these minutes.

Firstly, it had been stated during the meeting that no supplementation to pre-97 pension elements would be made in 2025. In fact, a 3% supplementation was granted by the company effective 1 November 2025. The Association promptly thanked those involved with this increase.

Secondly, in relation to pre-97 increases and the Pensions Act 2025 under consultation, Mr. Stewart Cusden asked if the Association had considered contacting the media directly. The committee agreed to consider this. The committee concluded that the submissions being made through the HPPA Alliance activity, with which we were involved by membership, were sufficient.

  1. SUMMARY OF CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2025
    The Chairman (DAH) gave the meeting a review of committee activities since the last AGM. He emphasised the independence of the Association (from the company) and outlined the high level of contact with Company personnel since the last AGM. DAH also outlined the contacts made directly with the Trustees and political and regulatory bodies.

    Three MS Teams (online) meetings were held with Mr. Ashley Sanders (AS), in January, March and July. Letters were also sent to Ms. Harriet Wu , General Manager, Total Rewards, San Ramon/Houston, in December, March and June.

    DAH and NJ met with Ms. Wu in Canary Wharf on 28 April 2026. The discussion items during these meetings continue to focus on UK inflation, supplementations to pre-97 pensions and matters related to the recent appointment of the Professional Corporate Trustee (PCST).

    During the July meeting with AS, he confirmed that he remains the principle point of contact with pensioners. He noted that the 3 yearly actuarial valuation which began at the beginning of the year is progressing and that it is planned to publish the results in the
    Trustee Newsletter later in the year. He also stated that he retains oversight of this publication.

    In response to a question of directional changes for the plan, he gave the reassuring reply that there were no changes being considered by the company.

    The Chairman introduced the subject of The Pension Schemes Act 2026. He recognised the considerable amount of work put into this matter by committee member Steve Ladle and thanked members for writing letters to their MP’s to lobby on this subject.

    The main points raised being the treatment of pre-97 pensions and of fund surpluses. The Association also wrote directly to the Pensions Minister and to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Despite comments from numerous separate organisations the Act passed through parliament essentially unchanged. A very disappointing outcome.

    The Chairman opened the meeting to questions and further discussion on this subject. There was considerable debate led by Steve Ladle and Stuart Hyder, who both provided knowledgeable observations about how to proceed, particularly now with the consultation response to the Department of Work and Pensions on fund surpluses.

    Following the dissolution of the Trustee board and the appointment of IGG as the Professional Corporate Sole Trustee (PCST) during 2025, DAH and NJ met with representatives of IGG, Mr. Dickon Best and Ms. Annabelle Hardiman in November 2025.

This introductory meeting was very cordial and cooperative. We followed up the meeting with a letter and have since sent 2 further letters, to which there has been no response. This is very disappointing and gives cause for serious concerns about future communications.

In conversation with AS, he advised that he has regular contact with the Trustee and gave reassurance about the arrangement. In response to a question from SL, it was advised that the reason given for the Trustee change was cost reduction.

The committee held 2 meetings during this year, a zoom meeting in February and an attended meeting in July. Considerable work continues to be done by committee members on a number of administrative and representative subjects as raised during this AGM.

Committee representatives have attended a number of pensioner reunion events in Aberdeen and London over the course of the year.

The Chairman then introduced the committee members in turn, explained their roles within the committee and expressed his appreciation for their efforts. He stressed the need for new committee members and invited members to come forward.

The Chairman concluded his address by listing the current major items of concern, as follows:
Future pension supplementations; Communication with the Trustee; Potential directional changes for the plan; Treatment of fund surplus.

REVIEW OF ACCOUNTS AND TREASURER’S REPORT
Presented by Treasurer Peter Young.
The accounts, as at 30 June 2026 were reviewed and differences to prior year were noted. 1. Another solid year, financially. Year end funds balance of £8,738.44 2. Expenses increased slightly during the year, with no one item being the principle cause. 3. Income increased from prior years to £6,078.00 from higher subscriptions. 4. Resultant net deficit of £1,093.11 for the year. This is the third year in a row which has shown a net deficit. The subscription increase is helping to balance this situation as will plans to combine the timing of the 2027 mid-year committee meeting and AGM. There were no questions to the accounts and explanations presented.The Accounts and Treasurer’s Report were unanimously approved (proposed SW; seconded NJ) 5.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT Summary of report by Membership Secretary Chris Simes (CS)
1. There are currently 793 members on the database
2. 159 members registered for Insight delivery by post. All new members select email copy
3. There have been 36 new members since 1 July 2025
Other items discussed:
1. How to increase membership. In response to a question from Stuart Hyder, ideas were discussed to improve advertisement for CUKPA for company leavers.
2. Some members using the new member form to update details causing rework and duplication.
3. Tracking deceased members continues to cause problems.

6. WEBMASTER’S REPORT
Andrew Nisbet presented the recent activity related to the website and membership database. The website update is progressing and is roughly 75% complete. Progress has been affected by other priority items, particularly pre-97 pensions matters and communication thereof.

Work continues to streamline membership records and reduce the heavy demands on the Treasurer. The use of AI to write effective code has resulted in a program that appears to be dependable in matching members payments to their membership record. It is helped by the cooperation of members who have updated their payment reference number on their standing orders.

This task can now be done in a fraction of the previous time taken on manual updates (From 4 days per year to 4 hours). There is still a little testing to be done but results so far are very encouraging.

The Chairman noted that a very successful online Zoom ‘coffee morning’ had been held some time back and asked if this could be repeated. AN said he would arrange another such event in the near future. (Held on 14th October 26 ED)

ELECTION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The Chairman advised the meeting that in accordance with the rules of the Association, committee members are elected for a period of 3 years. One committee member, Mr. Chris Simes, following his previous 3 year appointment term, was offering himself for election. Unanimously approved by the AGM. There were no other committee members requiring re-appointment.
The committee will continue to have 9 members for the forthcoming year.


ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Communication with the Trustee.
Following the short discussion around this matter during the Chairman’s Report, the subject was again raised in the context of how to initiate communication between the Trustee and membership. A number of ideas were discussed, led by Messrs. Stuart Hyder and Steve Ladle. It was agreed that since the PCST’s contract is with the company, any formal arrangement with the Trustee would need to go through the company.

Following the meeting, Mr. Hyder has made suggestions to the committee as to how this could be done.
A further discussion around fund surplus and the Trustees’ role in this matter then followed. Again, following the meeting, how best to respond to the DWP consultation around the now Pension Schemes Act 2026 and the role of the Trustee, is under consideration.

The Chairman advised the meeting that he had been contacted by pensioner Mr. Russ Presney, who, as a result of service in the US, had discovered that he was entitled to a US State Pension. He had followed this up through the US Social Security Administration (SSA). This may well apply to other UK pensioners who have had significant service in the US.

CONCLUSION
The Chairman concluded the meeting by again asking members to come forward and offer themselves for committee membership.
He encouraged individual members to raise any particular problems with which the Association might be able to help.

Articles for the next Insight newsletter are due by end September. DAH asked members to submit articles of interest about holidays, notable stories from time with Chevron and personal milestone events.

The Chairman thanked all attendees for their support and those at the venue, a safe journey home.
The meeting closed at 13.00 hrs.

CUKPA AGM 2026 Report and Minutes

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CHEVRON UK PENSIONERS’ ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Carpenters Arms, 12 Seymour Place, London W1H 7NE

11.00am 19 August 2026

MINUTES OF MEETING

After welcoming all attendees to the meeting, the Chairman (D Alan Higgins) began with a safety moment, as has become customary. Busy roads during the summer holiday season, with more foreign drivers than normal presents an increased hazard. He asked how many people had read their Highway Code recently, if indeed they had one. Sadly, not many attendees were able to answer positively.

The Chairman gave further welcome comments and asked the meeting to remember those friends and colleagues we have lost during the last 12 months. A short moment of silence then followed.

In this regard, the Chairman stated the problem of there being no easy means of finding out the names of those former colleagues and pensioners that had passed during the previous year. Names had formerly been provided by the company and listed in ‘Retiree News’. This publication is no longer issued. A list would be available from Barnett Waddingham but at an annual cost to the Association of £900. This offer has been declined.

Any suggestions to help with this matter would be very much appreciated.

DAH then introduced the committee members in turn.

AT THE VENUE:

D Alan Higgins (DAH)        Alan Dennison (AD)        Peter Young (PY)        Andrew Nisbet (AGN)

Neil Jones (NJ)        Chris Simes (CS)        Steve Wilson (SW)        Steve Ladle (SL)

Stuart Hyder        Carmen Davis        Nick Burrell        Stewart James

VIA ZOOM:

David Low        Alan Leiper        Nigel Cooper        David Way

Peter Fowler        Bruce Weir        Gordon Smith        Richard Sroka

David Leipa        Adam Cowburn        Malcolm Seedhouse

Grace Shacklady        Doug Reoch

The minutes of the AGM held on 8 October 2025, summarised on the website and dated 8 October 2025 were approved unanimously, proposed by PY seconded by SW. Subsequent to the meeting a hard copy has been signed for the record, by Vice-Chairman (NJ), as being a true account of that meeting.

MATTERS ARISING

There were 2 items raised as ‘matters arising’ from these minutes.

Firstly, it had been stated during the meeting that no supplementation to pre-97 pension elements would be made in 2025. In fact a 3% supplementation was granted by the company effective 1 November 2025. The Association promptly thanked those involved with this increase.

Secondly, in relation to pre-97 increases and the Pensions Act 2025 under consultation, Mr. Stewart Cusden asked if the Association had considered contacting the media directly. The committee agreed to consider this. The committee concluded that the submissions being made through the HPPA Alliance activity, with which we were involved by membership, were sufficient. Separate CUKPA media contact was considered to be excessive.

The Chairman (DAH) gave the meeting a review of committee activities since the last AGM. He emphasised the independence of the Association (from the company) and outlined the high level of contact with Company personnel since the last AGM. DAH also outlined the contacts made directly with the Trustees and political and regulatory bodies.

Three MSTeams meetings were held with Mr. Ashley Sanders (AS), in January, March and July. Letters were also sent to Ms. Harriet Wu, General Manager, Total Rewards, San Ramon/Houston, in December, March and June. DAH and NJ met with Ms. Wu in Canary Wharf on 28 April 2026. The discussion items during these meetings continue to focus on UK inflation, supplementations to pre-97 pensions and matters related to the recent appointment of the Professional Corporate Trustee (PCST).

During the July meeting with AS, he confirmed that he remains the principal point of contact with pensioners. He noted that the 3 yearly actuarial valuation which began at the beginning of the year is progressing and that it is planned to publish the results in the Trustee Newsletter later in the year. He also stated that he retains oversight of this publication. In response to a question of directional changes for the plan, he gave the reassuring reply that there were no changes being considered by the company.

The Chairman introduced the subject of The Pension Schemes Act 2026. He recognised the considerable amount of work put into this matter by committee member Steve Ladle and thanked members for writing letters to their MP’s to lobby on this subject. The main points raised being the treatment of pre-97 pensions and of fund surpluses. The Association also wrote directly to the Pensions Minister and to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Despite comments from numerous separate organisations the Act passed through parliament essentially unchanged. A very disappointing outcome. The Chairman opened the meeting to questions and further discussion on this subject. There was considerable debate led by Steve Ladle and Stuart Hyder, who both provided knowledgeable observations about how to proceed, particularly now with the consultation response to the Department of Work and Pensions on fund surpluses.

Following the dissolution of the Trustee board and the appointment of IGG as the Professional Corporate Sole Trustee (PCST) during 2025, DAH and NJ met with representatives of IGG, Mr. Dickon Best and Ms. Annabelle Hardiman in November 2025. This introductory meeting was very cordial and cooperative. We followed up the meeting with a letter and have since sent 2 further letters, to which there has been no response. This is very disappointing and gives cause for serious concerns about future communications. In conversation with AS, he advised that he has regular contact with the Trustee and gave reassurance about the arrangement. In response to a question from SL, it was advised that the reason given for the Trustee change was cost reduction.

The committee held 2 meetings during this year, a zoom meeting in February and an attended meeting in July. Considerable work continues to be done by committee members on a number of administrative and representative subjects as raised during this AGM.

Committee representatives have attended a number of pensioner reunion events in Aberdeen and London over the course of the year.

The Chairman introduced the committee members in turn, explained their roles within the committee and expressed his appreciation for their efforts. He stressed the need for new committee members and invited members to come forward.

The Chairman concluded his address by listing the current major items of concern, as follows:

  1. Future pension supplementations
  2. Communication with the Trustee
  3. Potential directional changes for the plan
  4. Treatment of fund surplus

Presented by Treasurer Peter Young.

The accounts, as at 30 June 2026 were reviewed and differences to prior year were noted.

  1. Another solid year, financially. Year end funds balance of £8,738.44
  2. Expenses increased slightly during the year, with no one item being the principal cause.
  3. Income increased from prior years to £6,078.00 from higher subscriptions.
  4. Resultant net deficit of £1,093.11 for the year.

This is the third year in a row which has shown a net deficit. The subscription increase is helping to balance this situation as will plans to combine the timing of the 2027 mid-year committee meeting and AGM.

There were no questions to the accounts and explanations presented.

The Accounts and Treasurer’s Report were unanimously approved (proposed SW; seconded NJ)

Summary of report by Membership Secretary Chris Simes (CS)

  1. There are currently 793 members on the database
  2. 159 members registered for Insight delivery by post. All new members select email copy
  3. There have been 36 new members since 1 July 2025
  4. Website form working well for new members

Other items discussed:

  1. How to increase membership applications. In response to a question from Stuart Hyder, ideas were discussed to improve advertisement for CUKPA for company leavers.
  2. Some members using the new member form to update details causing rework and duplication.
  3. Tracking deceased members continues to cause problems.

Andrew Nisbet presented the recent activity related to the website and membership database.

The website update is progressing and is roughly 75% complete. Progress has been affected by other priority items, particularly pre-97 pensions matters and communication thereof.

Work continues to streamline membership records and reduce the heavy demands on the Treasurer. The use of AI to write effective code has resulted in a program that appears to be dependable in matching members payments to their membership record. It is helped by the cooperation of members who have updated their payment reference number on their standing orders. This task can now be done in a fraction of the previous time taken on manual updates. There is still a little testing to be done, but results so far are very encouraging.

The Chairman noted that a very successful online zoom ‘coffee morning’ had been held some time back and asked if this could be repeated. AGN said he would arrange another such event in the near future. (Scheduled for 14th October).

The Chairman advised the meeting that in accordance with the rules of the Association, committee members are elected for a period of 3 years.

One committee member, Mr. Chris Simes, following his previous 3 year appointment term, was offering himself for election. Unanimously approved by the AGM.

There were no other committee members requiring re-appointment.

The committee will continue to have 9 members for the forthcoming year.

Communication with the Trustee. Following the short discussion around this matter during the Chairman’s Report, the subject was again raised in the context of how to initiate communication between the Trustee and membership. A number of ideas were discussed, led by Messrs. Stuart Hyder and Steve Ladle. It was agreed that since the PCST’s contract is with the company, any formal arrangement with the Trustee would need to go through the company. Following the meeting, Mr. Hyder has made suggestions to the committee as to how this could be done.

A further discussion around fund surplus and the Trustees’ role in this matter then followed. Again, following the meeting, how best to respond to the DWP consultation around the now Pension Schemes Act 2026 and the role of the Trustee, is under consideration.

The Chairman advised the meeting that he had been contacted by pensioner Mr. Russ Presney, who, as a result of service in the US, had discovered that he was entitled to a US State Pension. He had followed this up through the US Social Security Administration (SSA). This may well apply to other UK pensioners who have had significant service in the US.

The Chairman concluded the meeting by again asking members to come forward and offer themselves for committee membership.

He encouraged individual members to raise any particular problems with which the Association might be able to help.

Articles for the next Insight newsletter are due by end September. DAH asked members to submit articles of interest about holidays, notable stories from time with Chevron, personal milestone events.

The Chairman thanked all attendees for their support and those at the venue, a safe journey home.

The meeting closed at 13.00 hrs.

CUKPA 2nd Zoomy Coffee Morning

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After a little hiatus we are holding another online social event on Wednesday October 14th.

Our first Zoomy Coffee meetup was a very pleasant affair with a wide variety of topics over the 90 minutes and quite a few attending from across the country. It has always been our intention to hold another, but, you know, life..

But with the traditional British weather returning and mornings being a bit dull at times let’s get together and have a chat.

What about? Well this is a very informal affair with no fixed agenda, we had enough of those at work! We have a few topics in mind to keep the convo moving but we would love you to bring your own. Travel and holidays, work adventures, hobbies, favourite TV programs, jokes, a musical interlude if you play, anything other than politics and religion. We get enough of that on the news and in the papers! (If you still read those..)

So put this date in your diary and the time 11am to around 12.30, bring a tea, coffee or something a bit stronger (if it’s not too early for that) and join some colleagues for a catch up and a chat.

A Zoom link will be sent out the day before. No need to register in advance.

Texaco and Chevron Reunion Lunch at RAF Club October 23rd

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Colleagues & Friends,

 As promised, I have once again booked the Sovereign room at the RAF Club, 128 Piccadilly, London W1J 7PY for what has become our annual reunion luncheon, long may it continue!

On this occasion (despite inflation) I have been able to achieve only a small increased cost, £66 per person, which includes room hire and an allocation for gratuities.

The RAF Club is full of pictures and historical artifacts and is interesting to visit in its own right.

The format for the day will be the same as for previous occasions:

12:00 Midday – Drinks in the Churchill Bar

13:30 Sit down lunch – Sovereign Room

Close of Bar 16:00

Lunch Menu by popular demand is:

  • Pea Velouté with mint crème fraiche (v)
  • Steak, mushroom and ale pie served with creamed mashed potatoes and a selection of vegetables 
  • Sherry Trifle or Fresh fruit salad with cream 
  • Coffee and petit fours 
  • A Vegetarian option is also available

Confirming the cost will be £66 per person 

 I know my invite list is never complete so can I ask all attending if you are in touch with ex colleague who you think I might have overlooked or who might be unaware of our lunch please do extend this invitation to them.  As you might guess keeping our numbers up is critical.

Please contact Rod on rodpesch@aol.com and he will send you booking and payment instructions

Notice of the Chevron UK Pensioners’ Association AGM 2026

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To be held at 11.00am 19 August 2026 at The Carpenters Arms, 12 Seymour Place, London W1H 7NE

Also over Zoom. The link will be emailed to members the day before. You do not need a camera to join by voice

320m/350yds from Marble Arch tube station
Click here for a map

AGENDA

Introduction and Welcome

1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of 2025 AGM and Matters Arising
3. Chairman’s Review of 2025/26 activities
4. Review of Accounts and Treasurer’s Report
5. Membership Report
6. Webmasters report
7. Election of Committee Members
8. Any Other Business
Close

Notes on Using Zoom

Members are invited to propose candidates, or themselves, for election to the Committee by completing the Nomination Form below and returning it to the secretary@cukpa.org.uk no later than 29th July 2026.

(Copy and paste the following into an email

Committee Nomination Form

Name (block capitals) ……………………………………………………………………..
Address …………………………………………………………………………………………..
Is nominated to serve as a Committee member of the Association
Proposer (block capitals) …………………………………………………….

Signed ———————————————————————–

Seconder (block capitals) …………………………………………………….

Signed ………………………………………………………………………………….

I agree to serve on the Committee if elected.

Signed (Nominee) ……………………………………………………………………..

Insight Magazine 54 Spring 2026

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PDF version Here (for Download and printing)

Click for larger version

Inside This Issue (clickable list of contents)
  1. Letter from the Chairman – SPRING 2026
  2. Lagos Adventure
  3. Pensions Schemes Act 2026 – Update
  4. Save Money on Fuel and Car Servicing
  5. CUKPA 2025 AGM 8 October 2025 – Minutes
  6. State Pension increase
  7. April 2027: New tax rates for property and savings income
  8. CUKPA Committee Meeting 18 February 2026 – Minutes
  9. Retiree Lunches
  10. Humour Spot
  11. Membership fee increase to £15
  12. The Last Page

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Letter from the Chairman – SPRING 2026

We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch, so we should have known that there would be a price to pay for the lovely summer last year! Here to the west of Aberdeen, firstly we were snowed in for 12 days from Hogmanay – and then it rained for about a month thereafter – and not just a little bit either! Our little stream was up and over the banks with widespread flooding everywhere across the Shire! But the daffodils are still coming up, so that is a definite plus!

We were very pleased to be awarded a pensions supplementation of 3% in December, backdated to 1 November 2025, very welcome indeed. However, from our estimates, we have been left some 12%+ behind all the inflation of last summer and autumn. Not good enough Chevron!

However, inflation in the UK continues around the 3% mark and we have already asked the Company for a further pension increase as soon as possible – the earliest would be after the appropriate Chevron Corporation Board Meeting on global pensions in September or October or even later in 2026. We feel this is necessary to keep abreast of the ‘cost of living’. crisis, that is still a major concern here to everyone.

Back in November, Neil Jones and I met with our new Professional Corporate Sole Trustee (PCST) for a cordial exchange of views, goals and objectives. We met with the principal and one of two team members assigned to the Chevron Trustee position. In response to their stated position of trying to obtain and work with information from as many sources as possible, we agreed to keep them advised on our future developments with the Company. Levels of communication under the new Trustee arrangement do remain an ongoing concern.

The Association has also been maintaining contact with Mr Ashley Sanders of Chevron in Canary Wharf, in London, our latest contact being a Zoom meeting in early March 2026. With the Aberdeen Chevron office now down to only about half a dozen people, some 250 people remain in the Westferry Circus office at Canary Wharf. The Association is doing its best to remain in touch with as many Chevron people as we can across the Company.

I would like to take this opportunity of sincerely thanking all those members who have written and continue to write to their MP on the pre- 1997 issue of discretionary payments, part of our consultation submission for the 2025 Pension Schemes Bill.

We have also raised the question of the Pension Plan surplus possibly being ‘stolen’ by the Company. There have been amendments raised on this Bill in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, but to date, there seems little likelihood of bringing about a change to the blinkered view put forward by the ‘Pensions Minister’ and the ‘Secretary of State for Work & Pensions’. A number of MP’s are also bringing forward an amendment with regard to the ability of Trustees to stand up against employers or maintain their obligations to the pensioners in their particular pension plan. The Association has written to the leading pensions authorities and also to the Pensions Regulator on these same subjects, stressing the need for these amendments to be included in the Bill.

Ed: The latest update can be read here

Meanwhile the CUKPA Committee is diligently working away on many different issues of interest to members. These include reviewing and updating the website, streamlining our IT processes, keeping up with our membership with first declining and then slightly-rising numbers, editing and producing our bi-annual newsletter, writing letters to the Company, answering queries from members and a myriad of other routine tasks, all very necessary to keep your Association doing what it says ‘on the tin’.

Incidentally, we need articles for the newsletters, please do not assume that somebody else will write the articles or nobody will. I might even have to write another article myself!

We have had a good year for meeting people and members. Back in the Autumn, I met with some 45 ex-Texaco heritage CUKPA members in Aberdeen and thank you to Alan Jones for organising this. I was able to share the latest pensions developments and answer questions. If you are an ex-Texaco heritage member, please do get in touch with Alan Jones (alanwjones36ATyahoo.co.uk), as he will be able to tell you when and where the next meeting will be. You could come along and join former colleagues for the morning.

(Email addresses have been altered to discourage ‘scraping’ by spam bots. SImply replace AT with the @ symbol. Ed)

At three monthly intervals I am indebted to Dave Armstrong for organising ex- Chevron heritage CUKPA members for meetings at the Justice Mill in Union Street, Aberdeen. Again, come along and meet up with some old friends. In mid-February, we had some 38 people join us for the afternoon. If you are interested, please do get in touch with Dave Armstrong (david.armstrong25ATgmail.com), for future dates. It is a really good and interesting afternoon and ANY Chevron pensioners would be made very welcome.

Three committee members also attended the London annual reunion in October, organised by Rod and Sue Pesch. This is always a most enjoyable networking event.

The date for our AGM is now fixed for 19 August at 11am at the Carpenters Arms, 12 Seymour Place, London, W1H 7NE. The Medical Society venue is unavailable during August. We are hoping that this will also be streamed online from wherever, so if you cannot join us in person, then do try to connect with us online. It will be from 1100 and will conclude before two o’clock.

We are also seeking any members out there who would be willing to help Andrew Nisbet with the computer side of our business. Andrew has a lot to do, with various projects in hand and the website to review and renew. If you have a little time to spare and can help, then please do get in touch on agnisbetATyahoo.co.uk This is definitely the computer side of the business, rather than writing pages for the website. (Primarily editing website pages according to instructions. Easy once you know how! Andrew)

I have left the worst topic until last! Membership Subscriptions! I regret to advise that we have found it necessary to increase our subscriptions to ensure we balance the books. As you will know only too well, the cost of everything has gone up over the last couple of years and our costs are no different. Even with more meetings online, the Committee do still need to convene periodically for strategic planning purposes. We have contained our costs at £15 pa and would ask your help in subscribing this amount for future membership costs.

Finally, thank you for your continuing support, we greatly appreciate it and will always do our best to be worthy of your confidence. Your committee is working extremely hard to ensure we keep our name to the forefront of Chevron’s mind, difficult though this is most of the time, as pensioners seem to be the last people on the Company’s totem pole, when it comes to ensuring their financial wellbeing. But we will keep on trying!

STOP PRESS Although the Government is still quoting 3% inflation for February/March, obviously the situation in the Middle East over the last month or so will have a huge effect on inflation. It will be into March and April, before these numbers make themselves fully known.

Peter Young continues his series of African Adventures

Lagos Adventure

Pensions Schemes Act 2026 – Update

Incase you missed the link above

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CUKPA 2025 AGM 8 October 2025 – Minutes

State Pension increase

From April 2026, the New State Pension increased by 4.8%, benefiting millions of pensioners with above-inflation payments.
This boosts the full New State Pension to £241.30 weekly (£12,547.60 annually).

April 2027: New tax rates for property and savings income

From 6 April 2027, new tax rates will apply to savings income and profits from renting property. The rates are expected to be 2% above the main rates of income tax – so 22%, 42% and 47% in the basic, higher and additional rate tax bands respectively.

CUKPA Committee Meeting 18 February 2026 – Minutes

Retiree Lunches

The London lunch will be held in the Sovereign Room at the RAF Club, Piccadilly, on October 23rd. Contact Rod Pesch 01442 249212 or 07831 397539 or rodpeschATaol.com

Why not organise a lunch for your area or old business unit friends? We will add it to our Events Page and can give advice and tips on organising.. Let us know through the Contacts Page and we will contact you.

Humour Spot

An old man and a 20-year-old are paired together at a golf tournament. They’re playing a long par 5 that dog legs around some tall trees.
As the 20-year-old sets up his tee shot to hit onto the fairway the old man notes “when I was your age we used to hit over the trees – not around to the side.”
So the 20-year-old readjusts and tries to hit over the trees – but can’t clear them and loses his ball. He tries again and loses that one too…
Then the old man says “of course, when I was your age, the trees were only 6 foot tall.”

Membership fee increase to £15

We are having an increasing number of meetings with Chevron in London regarding the Single Professional Corporate Trustee, and with the Pension Bill Campaign team. Face to face meetings are the most effective for these but do incur travel expenses. You can be sure we are very careful with your money!

If you are over 80 you can reduce your subs to £5 but please try to pay a higher amount. When the payment reference is requested for your standing order, please use the following:- Your surname and initials You can use up to 18 characters for your reference. Please abbreviate long surnames as best you can but initials are very helpful to match the payment to your record.

You will require our bank details which are: Chevron UK Pensioners Association Sort Code: 20-17-92 (Barclays Bank) Account: 10181994

Many thanks for your support – Alan Higgins Chairman

The Last Page

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*What are diluted earnings? It’s a conservative (ie pessimistic) calculation used with complex capital (financing) structures and assumes that all un-issued shares, warrants, preferred shares and debt that can be converted to shares, etc., have been issued.

The next Insight Magazine will be published in the Autumn 2026

Pension Schemes Act 2026 – Update from Steve Ladle

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As you may well be aware the Pension Schemes Bill 2025 has now been passed in Parliament and as such it is now the Pensions Schemes Act 2026.

Our attempts to get something into it regarding regular annual increases for pre-1997 service were dismissed by the Government despite support from a lot of MPs. When it went to the House of Lords there was similar support for our cause but our proposed changes were dismissed by the Government when it came back to the Commons.

There was also some concern about the area of the Bill that has introduced an extended ability for Employers with Defined Benefit schemes such as our own to request that where a scheme was in surplus, this surplus could be returned to the Employer.

We have been very vocal about this and significant concerns remain about the distribution of fund surpluses and equitable treatment of all fund stakeholders’.

“A huge thank you to all of you who wrote letters. We ended up with the support of around 130 MPs and a number of very senior figures in the Lords.”      

Through the Pension Alliance, we have made numerous objections and have met with the Pensions Minister (Torsten Bell). He claimed to understand our concerns but has stated that “ …if trustees wish to insist on discretionary pre-1997 indexation as a condition for surplus release, they will be entitled to do so ( TB 3 December 2025) .”

We would now like to hold him to this and propose to comment on secondary legislation that will shortly be drawn up to give full guidance on how the Surplus request process will work,  following a Department for Work and Pension (DWP) consultation that is to be issued shortly.

The Pre-97 HPPA & Alliance Pension Justice (of which we are a member) intends to produce its own secondary legislation that will propose a number of steps that need to be considered before any surplus can be released and to attempt to put into practice what the Minister has publicly (including in the House of Commons) said. It is also  going to be lobbying the DWP and the Pensions Regulator (TPR) both of whom will be responsible for administering how the surplus process will work in the real world.

So we may yet be asking you to write further letters to your MPs  👍

Many thanks,

Steve Ladle

Justice for Pre-1997 Pensions

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Luke Akehurst MP for North Durham, takes up the cudgel on pre-1997 pensions.

Pressure is mounting on the Government to put right the wrongs of the 1995 Pension Act.

Here is an extract from his article which can be found here

“Alongside colleagues, I have written to Ministers calling for them to support NC22, or similar legislation to address this injustice. The Bill is now with the House of Lords, where I hope similar amendments will be tabled. I understand that the Bill is completing its final stages, meaning the Government must act swiftly if it wishes to remedy this problem with this law.

Time is running out to correct this injustice. Most pension schemes are bought out with an insurer in the long-term, meaning trustee discretion is removed entirely. Without legislative reform, thousands of pensioners will lose even the faint hope of an increase to their pension to keep up with inflation.

Securing increases to Defined Benefit Scheme pensions wouldn’t just benefit the over one million pensioners affected. It would also mean greater tax receipts for the state, boosting public services and allowing for more investment in communities like the ones I represent. The only losers here would be the companies who are underpaying retired workers who dedicated their careers to hard work.”

In addition the whole argument that the surplus funds will be invested into British Industry is a complete fallacy, in particular for the oil industry which is banned from investing in offshore developments! Instead they will be funneled abroad or into dividends and executive bonuses. If the government wants these funds spent in the British economy give them to the pensioners!

We still have to import thousands of barrels of oil putting an immense burden on our balance of payments when we could provide it from our own resources with no net increase in global consumption.

If you feel inclined to write to your MP once more please do. We are not providing a prewritten letter this time as we believe now is the time for something more personal. The article and information above provides ample ammunition. Even write direct to The Chancellor, as well.

CUKPA Fighting for your pension

Pensions Bill 2025 – Update February 26

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It’s been a while since my last update in November but CUKPA has continued to be very active.

4 different letters have now been sent by a large number of you. I have been copied in on around 200 responses but hopefully there were a lot more sent on which I wasn’t copied on. 

Many of your MP responses have indicated positive support whilst a number (generally from Labour members) got a response setting out the Government line.

Just under 50 individual MPs have been contacted with some receiving letters from a number of members.  Lib Dems, Greens and SNP have been consistently supportive.

CUKPA has also written to the Pensions Minister (Torsten Bell) and his boss Pat McFadden and we have submitted a response to a Department of Work and Pensions consultation The Alliance has written to the Prime Minister and has also been very busy lobbying their MPs together with a face-to-face meeting with the Pensions Minister. 

The Bill is currently in the Lords before it comes back to the Commons for the final stage. Lord Davies and a few colleagues have been particularly vocal about the faults with the Bill and that it is being rushed through when it is not legally fit for purpose.

Unfortunately, however, to date no significant amendments of the type we are after have been accepted.

But we haven’t given up yet. I hope to shortly send out another letter for you all to send to your MP, to line up with when the Bill comes back to the Commons.  This will focus on our concerns about the proposals to allow scheme surpluses to be handed back to Employers which we feel has not been properly thought through at all and poses huge risks to Defined Benefit schemes like ours.

Thanks for all your help so far. Please continue to support us.

Steve Ladle, CUKPA Campaign Manager

Alliance Facebook page link – https://www.facebook.com/groups/757211736207518/

Link to the progress of the Scheme Billhttps://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3982