After the Parliamentary Ombudsman found the government guilty on three counts of maladministration, they have still refused to compensate 85,000 workers who lost their pensions.
The Ombudsman reported that the department for work and pensions failure to tell scheme members of the 'risks of wind-up' constituted maladministration, because scheme members and member nominated trustees did not know that their accrued pension rights could be at risk. The Ombudsman also believed that the decision by the department to approve a change to the minimum funding requirement, and the official information about the security which members of a final salary pension scheme could expect, was 'sometimes inaccurate, often incomplete, largely inconsistent and potentially misleading'.
Ministers have said that the 'responsibility for pensioners' losses fall on the companies involved, not the government', and that the information from them at that time on occupational pension schemes did not constitute financial advice. Compensation costs are thought to be as high as £15 billion.
Our view
Guess who we think will pay? Yes, that's right - the rest of us. We will end up paying more in costs indirectly to compensation schemes, insurance and pension administration fees as well as those poor people who have lost their pension rights.