Hain welcomes interim findings of Assets Review

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Peter Hain today welcomed the first findings of a review examining whether financial assistance for people who lost their pensions could be increased.

The Assets Review, led by Andrew Young of the Government Actuary's Department, reported there are £1.7bn of assets in occupational pension schemes that qualify for help from the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS).

The current practice of each scheme purchasing annuities for their members (which are then topped up by the Government) may not offer the best use of these assets, the review found. Alternative approaches which could increase the value include bulk purchase of annuities and pooling of assets in a single fund.

Peter Hain said: "These findings are very encouraging. They show there are still significant amounts of money available in the collapsed pension schemes which, if managed carefully, could boost assistance for people who lost their pensions.

"We believe we will be able to move the 80 per cent guarantee from the taxpayer further towards 90 per cent.

"But before we bring forward further proposals we must be sure they can be delivered - to do otherwise would be unfair to those who lost their occupational pension saving.

"We now have a solid evidence base as to the available funding - and it is clear that unclaimed defined benefit pension fund assets and orphan pension assets are not serious options.

"The review team will now be examining what is the best way to make the assets in the collapsed pension schemes go further, before delivering its final conclusions later this year."