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Notes to the accounts

continued


25 Retirement benefit obligations (continued)

2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
History of experience of gains and losses £m £m £m £m £m

(Gains)/losses on assets (164.7) 514.5 110.3 (43.7) (233.8)
% of assets at the end of the year 8% 32% 6% (2%) (14%)
Experience (gains)/losses on defined benefit obligation (28.0) (17.4) 60.6 1.5 10.0
% of defined benefit obligation at the end of the period (1%) (1%) 3% 0% 0%

Contributions will be as follows until the next actuarial valuation due as at 31 March 2010:

The John Lewis Partnership Trust for Pensions – 12.8% of scheme members’ gross taxable pay (excluding Partnership bonus), together with £8.1m per year in respect of the past-service deficit.

For the John Lewis Partnership Senior Pension Scheme – £1.3m, or such other amount as certified by the scheme actuary based upon an analysis of the membership data at the start of the scheme year, plus an additional amount of £0.1m in respect of the past-service deficit.

On 29 January 2010 the group entered into an arrangement with the Pension Scheme Trustees to address an element of the current scheme deficit.

The group has established two partnerships, JLP Scottish Limited Partnership and JLP Scottish Partnership, which are both consolidated within these group financial statements. The group has taken advantage of the exemption conferred by regulation 7 of the Partnerships (Accounts) Regulations 2008 and has therefore not appended the accounts of these qualifying partnerships to these accounts. Separate accounts for these partnerships are not required to be filed at Companies House.

Together with another group company, JLP Scottish Limited Partnership has provided sufficient capital to JLP Scottish Partnership to enable it to procure property assets with a market value of £150.9m from other group companies. The group retains control over these properties, including the flexibility to substitute alternative properties. The Properties held in JLP Scottish Partnership have been leased back to John Lewis plc and Waitrose Limited.

As a partner in JLP Scottish Limited Partnership, the pension scheme is entitled to an annual share of the profits of the JLP Scottish Limited Partnership each year over the next 21 years. At the end of this period, the partnership capital allocated to the pension scheme will be reassessed, depending on the funding position of the pension scheme at that time, with a potential value in the range £0.5m to £99.5m. At that point, the Group may be required to transfer this amount in cash to the scheme.

Under IAS 19, the investment held by the pension scheme in JLP Scottish Limited Partnership, a consolidated entity, does not represent a plan asset for the purpose of the group’s consolidated accounts. Accordingly, the pension deficit position presented in these financial statements does not reflect the £95m investment in JLP Scottish Limited Partnership held by the pension scheme. The distribution of JLP Scottish limited Partnership profits to the pension scheme will be reflected as pension contributions in these group accounts on a cash basis.