Govt. pledges £12.5bn to pension scheme victims

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Peter Hain has decided to increase Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) help for those affected to 90% of their accrued pension. He will extend the settlement to cover 11,000 people in schemes wound up by qualifying solvent employers. The commitment follows Prime Minister Gordon Brown's promise last Wednesday to aid the pension scheme vicims and comes alongside the Young Review, which examines ways of generating additional value from the failed pension schemes. The review demonstrates the Government could meet trade unions’ demands if it brought the...