Please see below the email we would like you to send to your MP. It is fairly lengthy and includes a couple of links to a playlist on YouTube and a link to a summary of the Pre-97 issue that is on the website.
The simplest way to do this is to copy the content below and paste it into your email system – it should come across with all the necessary links to YouTube and the website.
Email Content to copy
Dear (add the name of your MP)
Subject: Requesting your support for amendment NC22, Pensions Schemes Bill 255
I am your constituent, _______________, and my home address is _____________.
I am a pensioner from __________(add the name of the company you retired from), and I retired in (add in the year). _______% of my pension is based on Pre-97 service, which is not protected from inflation. Over time, due to lack of discretionary increases, the value of my pension has eroded significantly. In the next 10 years, when I will need my pension even more, it will become almost worthless.
I had been hopeful that the promise of new legislation was going to be helpful to me, as the government had publicly stated. However, since its publication, I continue to be alarmed by Pension Schemes Bill 255 which will not help me and may be harmful. I find the pattern of the Minister’s comments on Bill 255 to be so disturbing as to erode my confidence in his and the government’s leadership. Please let me explain more.
The recent letter from W&P Chair Debbie Abrahams to the Minister for Pensions rightly highlights the erosion of purchasing power, the lack of member representation in decision-making, and the urgent need for reform. Yet the pattern of the Minister’s comments and indeed Chapter 2 of Bill 255 itself reflect a lack of understanding of the nature and functioning of DB schemes. The scale of inaccuracy in Part 1, Chapter 2 of the Bill itself reveals a lack of direct consultation with pensioners.
I am increasingly losing all confidence in the Minister as he continues to repeat the flawed rationale for maintaining the status quo that have been in use for more than 20 years. My pension association has been very active in providing specific feedback via MPs and by providing written and oral evidence.
Despite the variations across Defined Benefits schemes, many pensioners share a problem which the government continues to ignore – the Pre-97 “problem”. The value of my pension has been eroded over time by the company’s refusal to give discretionary increases, despite Trustees recommendations.
While the comments of the Minister on 27 October acknowledged the problem again, his proposed solution of Bill 255 is unrealistic. His proposal relies on the relationship between sponsoring company and scheme trustee where the company has the majority of control and the trustee is compelled to act in the best interest of all pensioners equally, with an emphasis on promised benefits.
A recent survey of over 500 pensioners of the HPPA – see results below – clearly refutes the Minister’s assertion that the matter of Pre-97s can be resolved between sponsor and trustee.
- 95% Not so or not at all confident that decisions about increases for Pre 97 pensioners, which are controlled by the company,” are made fairly and based on all the relevant facts (condition of the pension fund, cost of living, length of time without discretionary increases, economic forecast, etc.)”
- 90% Not so or not at all confident “there is an appropriate balance of power between Co and Trustee without conflict of interest”
- 83% Disagree or strongly disagree “pension benefits I receive match what I was promised”
- 70% Disagree or strongly disagree “communications between Trustees and pensioners are open & honest “
- 86% Not so or not at all confident that the “relationship between the company and the Trustee functions well for delivering my pension now and into the future”
These results do not support the Minister’s proposal as a viable way forward. This government has continued the pattern of “delay, deny, wait until we die”. When the Minister speaks of trustees being “better placed to negotiate” with sponsoring companies, I wonder where that better place might be. When I think about my own powerlessness as a pensioner, I am reminded of Churchill’s comment – “You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth.”
Pre-97 pensioners need the government’s help now. Bill 255 as it is proposed will not deliver the help I need. As my MP, I ask you to sign and support the cross-party amendment NC22. Please contact Dame Nia Griffith to sign the amendment and show your support.
If you wish to find out more about the Pre-97 DB pension problem, please go to our YouTube channel where there is a recommended playlist to guide you.
If you would like to see a single page summary of the issue please click here. More information can be supplied on request to Patricia@hppa.org.uk.
I am also very willing to meet with you at a surgery or on-line to discuss this injustice further.
Respectfully, ______________
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