BT Group Acceleration of Pension Deficit Contribution for 2011 (BT)

BT Group BT today announces that it has brought forward the payment of its next pension deficit contribution from the due date in December 2011 to March 2011, in agreement with the Trustee of the BT Pension Scheme. BT has taken the decision to accelerate the payment as it is economically beneficial to do so and utilises existing cash deposits. As a result of the acceleration, BT has made a cash payment of 505m pounds into the BTPS, being the actuarial value of the 525m pounds due to have been paid in December 2011. In addition, the payment will be tax deductible at a corporation tax rate of 28%, rather than the 26% which will apply in the 2011/12 financial year, and the timing of the tax deduction will be brought forward to the first half of the 2011/12 financial year. The early payment does not impact the company's previously announced outlook for free cash flow.