§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether protected rights accrued qrior to April 1997 by members of a contracted out occupational pension scheme are underwritten by the Government in the event of a sponsoring employer becoming insolvent and unable to meet those rights; whether any shortfall in those rights will be met by the Pension Protection Fund from April 2005 onwards; and if he will make a statement. [187829]
§ Malcolm WicksThe Government do not underwrite protected rights. However, unless an offence has been committed, when scheme winds-up it should have sufficient funds to pay the protected rights.
The Pension Protection Fund is designed to protect members of defined benefit schemes and defined benefit elements of hybrid schemes. Only in the case of pension scheme fraud will the PPF consider compensating members of defined contribution schemes. Such protection has been provided by the Pensions Compensation Board since April 1997 and the PPF will assume this role when it is up and running in April 2005.