Wilko staff to face pension cuts after benefit scheme enters the Pension Protection Fund

Wilko staff pensions are to take a hit as administrators PwC said the deficit in the scheme had widened to £76m on a buyout basis compared with the £50m previously thought.

Members of the scheme at retirement age will get their full pension while those who are younger will face a 10% reduction to their benefits under the Pension Protection Fund.

This comes after value retailer The Range made a deal to buy the Wilko brand from administrators PwC for around £5m, saving 36 jobs in the process, while Poundland and B&M bought out 71 and 51 former Wilko stores, respectively.

All 400 branches of Wilko will close by early October with the anticipated loss of all 12,500 jobs across the business after a rescue deal with HMV owner Doug Putman fell through due to “rising costs”.