§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension schemes have started the winding-up process in each quarter since 2001; and how many pension scheme members have been affected each quarter, broken down by(a) pensioners and (b) people who had not retired when the winding-up began. [146021]
§ Malcolm WicksThe Pensions Schemes Registry, administered by the Occupational Pension Schemes Regulatory Authority (OPRA), holds information on the number of pension schemes which are currently in the winding up process. Figures showing the number of schemes that have entered winding up each quarter since 2001 and have not yet completed winding up are contained in the table, along with the number of members in those schemes.
It is not possible to break these figures down by pensioner and pre-retirement numbers, as the registry only provides data on total membership numbers.
Schemes that have started winding up in the relevant period and have not yet completed winding up All scheme types Defined-Benefit schemes only Quarter beginning Number of schemes Number of members Number of schemes Number of members 1 January 2001 423 11,365 44 4,744 1 April 2001 699 19,829 94 11,827 1 July 2001 443 18,138 70 10,805 1 October 2001 384 17,782 64 10,988 1 January 2002 511 15,760 66 9,610 1 April 2002 327 16,245 53 9,745 1 July 2002 394 14,674 54 9,735 1 October 2002 426 28,340 90 15,232 1 January 2003 451 18,877 59 8,118 1 April 2003 375 17,024 46 7,472 Notes:
1.The table does not contain schemes that started winding up in the time period given and have since completed wind up. The Pensions Schemes Registry only records the present status of a scheme so only those winding up at the moment are captured. This is unlikely to bias the figures extensively as the winding up process can take many years to complete, particularly for large firms.
The "All scheme type" column contains Defined-Contribution, Hybrid and Unknown Type schemes as well as Defined-Benefit schemes.
386W3. A winding up scheme is one which has notified OPRA that it has commenced winding up procedures.
4. Schemes have up to 12 months to notify OPRA of any status change, so the data for the current year is provisional.
Data is not available for periods after the quarter beginning 1 April 2003.