§ 22. Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to compensate workers who lose occupational pension rights prior to the introduction of the pension protection fund. [167698]
§ Malcolm WicksThe Government are sympathetic to all those people who will not receive the pension they worked so hard to build up for their future retirement. We have been meeting some of those affected and listened to suggestions regarding assistance ahead of the Pension Protection Fund's introduction. But there are complex arguments on both sides and we are giving them serious consideration
We are currently exploring with industry representatives the basis on which we can establish firm estimates of the extent of the problem of defined benefit schemes winding-up underfunded, the numbers affected and the potential scale of losses.