Pension boards to be jointly elected by scheme members

The
unions have welcomed the Government’s proposals for pension trustee boards to
have at least half of their number nominated from the scheme’s members.

The
announcement was made by Alan Johnson, the new secretary of state for work
and pensions, at the TUC conference in Brighton.
It was his first major speech on pensions since the Cabinet reshuffle last week.

T&G
union deputy general secretary Jack Dromey
said the announcement would send a clear message to employers that "the
days of raiding pension funds and closing pension schemes are over".

The
move could quell fears over section 67 of the Pension’s Bill, which allows
trustees of pension schemes to ‘swap’ benefits already accrued with different
benefits of an equal value in economic terms.

The
Government had claimed that this would mean there were ‘no losers’ when
benefits were swapped, but the Institute
of Faculty
and Actuaries said the concept of actuarial equivalence did "not sit well
will the concept of no losers".

The
Bill is being debated in the House of Lords.

Michael Millar

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