§ Mr. RoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the(a) total amount of money lost by pension holders in company schemes where that pension scheme has wound up after the failure of the company and (b) the number of people who have lost pension provision in such circumstances. [158152]
§ Malcolm WicksEstimating the value of pensions lost and the number of people affected due to scheme wind-up and company insolvency, is fraught with numerous difficulties. We do not have information that tells us whether a scheme wind-up is due to company insolvency. Nor do we have information at an aggregate level on the fund assets and liabilities of schemes winding-up.
The extent of pensions lost depends on many different factors—such as the maturity of the scheme (that is, the age profile and retirement status of members), and the funding position before starting winding-up. The latter in turn is highly sensitive to investment decisions and conditions in the financial markets.
Data is severely limited in these areas, and as a result the Government does not have reliable estimates of the amount of money lost or the number of people affected.