The Story So Far…

2012 – HPPA members began questioning lack of annual increases since HP merger in 2002

2014 – After significant work, case taken to the Ombudsman, who did not find in favour of the case.

1) indexation for pre-97 service is not required by UK law (Pension Act 1995)

2) discretionary payments at the discretion of the company, not the Trustee

2014 – HP Fiscal Report states “In fiscal 2015, Our policy is to fund our pension plans so that we meet at least the minimum contribution requirements, as established by local government, funding and taxing authorities.”

2015 – Legal analysis and opinion sought. Ombudsman determination legally correct. Recommendation & decision– work to “change the law”.

2015 – HP split and HPE founded. Digital Pensions moved to HPE

2017 – HPPA event at Portcullis with local MPs. BBC News coverage. Excellent video produced and posted here –  BBC HPPA Interview 171019

2017 – House of Commons, Westminster Hall debate led by on Corri Wilson MP Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock HPPA had called on the Government to change the law to require pre-1997 rights to be index-linked. She asked the Government to address the issue. In response to a PQ in March, the pensions minister Mr Harrington said that the company was “meeting its legal obligations”.

2021– HPPA paper produced including member survey & The Pensions Regulator (TPR) data. Requested meeting with Trustee. Meeting denied.  “There is no plan in place to support regular sustainable discretionary increases for members.”

2021- HPPA paper produced -Strategy for Restoring Value for Digital Pension members shared with HPE and Trustee. No response from company or Trustee.

2021 – Request for a Governance Review Outcome – not accepted.

2021 – Analysis & estimations based on an FOI Request to The Pensions Regulator (2020/2021) showed that 20% of schemes relying on discretionary increases accounted for 80% of the membership.

2022 – Activities of HPPA attract attention from other Pre-97 pension groups in the same position, aided by Times article by Patrick Hosking.

IBM began paying discretionary increases to continue to 2020. Message from HPPA to HPE “If IBM and other companies have been successful at creating collaborative policy for discretionary increases then why not HPE?

2022 – Letter to Antonio Neri – President and Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Texas. “To help prevent this crisis growing further, we would very much appreciate your personal support and advocacy in a way that facilitates and better enables Marc Waters to bring about the systemic changes required – and at the same time – further cascade and embed your personal and corporate ethics across the organisation and the inherent benefits that will naturally come from this.” Outcome – No reply.

2022 – First ‘Call to Action’; identify and meet with your local MP – HPPA MP briefing provided.

2022 – Written evidence to Pensions Select Committee in September 2022. Outcome – response from Chair of Select Committee agreeing to inquiry and inviting HPPA to give oral evidence.

2022 – The HPE pension plan goes into deficit following the mini-budget of September 2022.

2023 – In September there was a second ‘Call to Action’ –Demonstration at HPE headquarters in Winnersh, Reading, of over 100 pensioners, who handed over a petition of more than 1,000 pensioner’s signatures. Covered by ITV Meridian TV and Reading Today Online. See the Day of Action articles here: Day of Action – HPPA Website

2023 – October – Oral Evidence provided to Pensions Select Committee Inquiry into DB Schemes.  David Carson from HPPA, Nick Coleman from BP Pensions Association, and Robert Smith, a member of Council at Royal Ordnance Pensioners Association. See further information here: 18 October 2023 – Defined benefit pension schemes – Oral evidence – Committees – UK Parliament

1. HPPA: HPPA believe that the regulatory framework has significant weakness in ensuring effective guidance, oversight, and governance for a particular segment of schemes within the DB landscape, specifically those schemes:
   1. With pensioners with significant pensionable service before April 1997 and where the sponsor company has sole discretionary power in deciding whether to grant discretionary increases to pre-97 pensions.
   2. Within the above schemes – where the sponsor company does not collaborate effectively with their pension Trustees and has consistently not given discretionary increases over a substantial number of years.
2. ROPA: ROPA believe that the unrestricted availability of the Sole Professional Trustee model in its present form weakens the protection for members by allowing employers unilaterally to dispense with many of the safeguards around independence and transparency built into the traditional Trustee board system.

2023 – Digital pensioners event in Ayr in November, organised by Patricia Kennedy & David Carson, over 100 attendees.

2023 – A 3M pensioner contacts the Pensions Regulator to report Pre-97 lack of discretionary increases after seeing coverage of the Digital Ayr event.

2024 – Pre-97 Pension Justice Alliance starts to take shape, led by HPPA

2024 – Increased media attention from The Times, Working Wise and Daily Record. A social media campaign is launched on LinkedIn. Check our website for links to media coverage: HPPA In The Press – HPPA Website

2024 – HPPA submits written evidence to the Select Committee for their Commons Committee report, with recommendations to government.

2024 – House of Commons, Westminster Hall debate led by on Alistair Carmichael MP Orkney & Shetland. Allan Dorans, MP Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock spoke for HPPA. Read transcript here: Allan Dorens DB Pensions HPPA Contribution Hansard Parliament

2024 – HPPA have sight of the Pension Schemes Act 2021 and contact Trustees with request for discussions.

2024 – Government is changed in July and HPPA begin lobbying again meeting with many new MPs

2024 – HPPA Request for Trustee to engage the company on its duty of good faith. “While the company’s legal obligations may be satisfied, its approach is disconnected from the ethical

expectations set by the Pensions Act. Refusal to grant any discretionary increases over two decades does not reflect the spirit of fair and responsible pension scheme management.” Outcome: no change

2024 – HPPA letter of appeal to Ms Patricia F. Russo, Chair of the Board of Directors, HPE HQ appealing for her personal commitment and expectation for leaders “What will it take for HPE to pay annual discretionary inflation/COLA increases (cost-of-living adjustment) to their UK pensioners?”.

2024 – Question from a shareholder to HPE virtual Annual Shareholder’s Meeting; ‘Why won’t HPE work in “good faith” with its UK Pension Trustee to resolve the matter of annual discretionary inflation/COLA increases?’ Answer – refer matter back to UK HPE leadership, but this does not lead to any change.

2024 – In August HPPA met with HPE Trustee at their annual meeting to share updates and discuss a set of questions submitted by members.

• The meeting was viewed as constructive and informative.
• The Trustees understood our position and approach. The Trustees’ approach is closely aligned with our priorities – protecting pensions, building surplus and seeking fairness.
• This has been demonstrated through their recent repeated requests to the company for discretionary increases to be granted.

2024- In December media attention for HPPA after Patricia writes to Kerry Kennedy, regarding the Ripple of Hope award that was presented to Antonio Neri, HPE CEO. Kerry is the daughter of Robert F Kennedy, whom Patricia met years ago. Patricia shared our concerns about injustice and asked Kerry to endorse and pass on the HPPA appeal to Neri.

2025 – Patricia Kennedy, Brian Lawrence and local committee volunteer John Ward lead a Digital Pensioners event in Reading. Seventy people attended, and local MPs were formally notified of the meeting and its purpose. The event featured in the local press.

2025 – HPPA expands its web platforms to feature the Pension Justice Alliance. Media coverage in The Times.

2025 – HPPA leads and coordinates a diary of multiple campaign actions. HPPA maintains a website, a full contact database and email logging service via admin, and a LinkedIn presence.

2025 – In September, HPPA led a “drop in” event hosted by Elaine Stewart MP for MPs and peers to hear from affected pre‑97 pensioners. It was attended by at least 34 MPs and Lord Bryn Davies of Brixton. New member Jim Harrison from Lloyd’s Register brought along a draft amendment and shared it with the MPs. With the help of Dame Nia Griffiths and Sir Roger Gale, this draft became an amendment NC22 to the Pensions Schemes Bill to remove the demarcation line of 1997.

Alliance members in attendance are shown below with Elaine Stewart and Patrica Kennedy were Roy Davies from the Wood Group (Fospen), Jim Harrison from Lloyds Register, Peter Weston and Godfrey Thomas from Atos/Sema, John Tissington from AIG, Steve Ladle from Chevron, Keith Appleyard from Amex, and Paul Kelsey, Doug Arnold, John Springall, Jane Foley, Norton Hawes and Bob Trease from Digital/HPE.

  Portcullis event

2025 – In October HPPA, Amex Pension Group and BP Pension Group were invited to give evidence at the Work and Pensions Select Committee. Patricia also presented data on behalf of HPPA and Alliance member schemes. See a recording here: We give evidence to the Work & Pensions Select Committee – HPPA Website

2025 – Third time lucky? The third Call to Action galvanised members like never before to email their MPs to support an amendment to the new Pensions schemes bill – NC22. Approximately 1500 emails were sent by members.

2025- HPPA and the Alliance, sponsored by Lord Bryn Davies of Brixton, held a “drop in” event in the House of Lords on 18 December. HPPA prepared a briefing note and invited over 100 Lords and Baronesses. Attendees were Peter Weston from Atos/Sema, Chris Smith from STMicroelectronics, Keith Appleyard from Amex, Jim Harrison from Lloyds Register, Steve Ladle from Chevron, John Tissington from AIG, Brian May from Pfizer, Douglas Wilson from Carillion (Alliance guest), and Patricia Kennedy, Jane Foley, Steve Mawby and Paul Kelsey from Digital/HPE. The meeting was timed to coincide with the Lords Committee and Report Stages of the Pension Schemes Bill, where amendments relating to pre‑97 indexation were being considered.

   House of Lords event

2025 – In December Pre‑97 indexation becomes a major topic in the House of Commons debate on the Pensions Schemes Bill led by Dame Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli, where Digital/HPE pensioner Paul Kelsey is a constituent. See our stars at the debate on the website: Our Stars at the Debate – HPPA Website

Amendment NC22, developed from Jim Harrison’s idea, received cross‑party support but was not selected for a vote.

2026 – With the help of Alan Gemmell, MP Central Ayrshire, a January meeting is arranged with Minister Torsten Bell and Patricia Kennedy, who invited 3 leaders of the Pre-97 Pension Justice Alliance to join her in the meeting.

He disagreed with our message that “Trustees administer, and sponsoring companies decide.” He insisted that “Trustees will be in the driving seat on all decisions regarding surplus release.”

2026 – in February Patricia writes to Prime Minister Kier Starmer highlighting concerns about the bill. Letter hand delivered via an MP.

2026 – On 9 March Pre‑97 discretionary increases become the subject of a parliamentary adjournment debate supported by cross party MPs and led by Luke Akehurst MP North Durham.  By April HPPA have conducted multiple MP meetings and on‑site lobbying at Westminster, funded by HPPA & Alliance member donations.

2026 – on 29 April, the Pensions Act 2026 receives Royal Assent. Pre-97 amendments were not accepted by the government. However, the Bill introduced changes that makes scheme surplus- sharing easier. For schemes in surplus, this opens a possible route to pension justice if secondary legislation requires pre-97 pension justice.

2026 – April BBC – Ex-Nissan staff call for rethink on pension scheme to increase part of its pensions in line with inflation. See coverage here: Former Sunderland Nissan staff call for pension changes – BBC News

2026 – By May the MPs supporting Pre-97 justice had risen to 124 members. Alliance leads another round of focussed emailing and meetings to ensure that DWP consultations on the secondary legislation of the Pension Schemes includes the voice of the pensioners.

2026 – As of June, the HPPA contact database has over 300 engaged MPs, and almost 3000 emails have been logged and saved. The website produces monthly Newsletters with 1730 subscribers. There is a Facebook page with over 1000 members, a YouTube channel with 300 subscribers and LinkedIn profiles which receives thousands of views per month.

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