Hope at Last? ; for Two Years Financial Mail has Been Leading the Fight to Compensate Victims of the Pensions Windup Scandal. Now They Have Won a Breakthrough As Ministers Announce Pounds 400m of Help. Rightly, the Celebrations Are Muted. Is This Nearly Enough to Repair the Damage of 60,000 Shattered Lives?

Summary

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THOUSANDS of workers who have lost their right to a works pension through no fault of their own were given a glimmer of hope on Friday when the Government finally announced details of a compensation package.

The Government, facing an embarrassing backbench revolt over the lack of state help for the 60,000 victims of pension schemes wound up by companies, usually when they go bust, unveiled the setting up of a Pounds 400 million trust fund.

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Extract

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Hope at Last? ; for Two Years Financial Mail has Been Leading the Fight to Compensate Victims of the Pensions Windup Scandal. Now They Have Won a Breakthrough As Ministers Announce Pounds 400m of Help. Rightly, the Celebrations Are Muted. Is This Nearly Enough to Repair the Damage of 60,000 Shattered Lives?

Pensions Secretary Andrew Smith says the fund, backed by Pounds 400 million of public money over 20 years, 'will give real help to people who have lost their life savings through no fault of their own'.

Ministers also believe that the compensation package, which may be topped up by contributions from employers, will improve people's confidence in pensions. Yet within hours of the announcement the package was being criticised for excluding some victims.

Steve Webb, Liberal Democrat pensions spokesman, accused the Government of a ...

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