The Government has thrown members of wound up (i.e. closing) company pension schemes a lifeline in the form of backdating the date from May 2004 to 1st January 1997, for people who can claim for compensation when an employer goes into liquidation and the pension fund cannot meet its liabilities.
Members of company pension schemes that have been wound up, and those who have gone into administration, but have not been wound up yet, are now both able to make claims from the Pension Protection Fund, worth £400 million, due to be established on 5th April 2005, provided that they started to wind up after 1st January 1997.
Our view
This is great news but there is still the cloud hanging over who will have to pay the compensation.