Forum Brief: Pensions

A spokesman for the Treasury said: "Officials are working intensively to find a resolution, but it may be some way off.

"Everyone wants to find a solution and all the departments involved are working together closely. But it would be wrong to raise expectations".

Forum Response: Age Concern

Director general of Age Concern England Gordon Lishman said: "We fully support the cross-party amendment to the Pensions Bill to help compensate the 60,000 workers who have been left with next to nothing through no fault of their own and urge the government to adopt it.  Justice demands that the people who believed their pensions were safe should not lose out because of circumstances beyond their control.

"Compensating these workers would also help to restore people's confidence in pensions. It is no wonder that so many are not encouraged to save when those who put away money for their retirement have very little to show for their efforts.

"The Pension Protection Fund will provide an essential safety-net to rebuild people's confidence in the future, but it is equally important that those who have already lost so much are not left peniless in retirement. The government must seriously consider the options for funding retrospective compensation.

"The government should also re-consider the role of the basic state pension to ensure that it covers daily living costs and provides a solid foundation for building up additional retirement income."

Forum Response: Association of Consulting Actuaries

A spokesman for the ACA said: "The Association of Consulting Actuaries has supported the introduction of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), although we have urged the government to re-consider the level of benefits, which we believe are overly ambitious, particularly the uncapped benefit for existing pensioners.  We believe there is a danger the cost of the PPF could exceed government estimates if these benefits are not scaled back, requiring high levies from pension schemes.