Diageo whisky-pension plan

Much like workers within many other large organizations, Diageo employees – current and past – have probably been worried about their pension payments. Like many other employers, big and small, they’re currently fighting to close a sizable gap (about $1.3 billion, according to the Scotsman) in their pension scheme. Unlike a lot of other organizations however, they’ve actually presented what seems to be a viable – if slightly quirky – solution.

What they are going to do is pay their pensions out in the form of whisky, the thought being that the beneficiaries can then sell it directly to end-consumers at lower rates than shops, directly on the streets. How many bottles, and from which distillery, depends on the money owed to you each month. The average employee can look forward to receiving between 45-55 bottles of Caol Ila and Lagavulin per month.

Okay so that’s not quite true – though I would have loved to see thousands of people roaming the streets trying to sell discount whisky! What they’ve actually done is set aside some 2-2.5 million barrels of whisky, the sale income of which will serve to close the deficit.

Personally I’ve never heard of a solution quite like it before, but I must say that I applaud the innovation and dedication to fulfil their promise towards their employees. You can read the story in much more detail over at the Scotsman.