The government's decision to extend the Financial Assistance Scheme for workers who lost their pensions when their employers collapsed, is just more political spin, says a leading pensions campaigner.
At the moment the FAS rules currently restrict financial help to pension scheme members who were within 15 years of retirement at 14 May 2004 when their scheme collapsed. In addition it provides less than 80% of their lost pensions to those who were more than seven years from retirement at that date, and a ‘de minimis’ rule excludes those who would receive £10 a week or less from the FAS. But Dr Ros Altmann, an independent consultant and former government adviser on pensions, says the announcement to remove the ‘de minimis’ rule and increase funding from £2bn to £8bn, which the governme...
To continue reading this article...
Join Professional Adviser for free
- Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
- Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
- Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
- Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
- Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
- Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes