Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Pre-1997 Non-indexed Occupational Pensions

Monday 24 April 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Key points

  • Justin Madders asked the Minister about support for people with pre-1997 non-indexed occupational pensions.
  • The Minister stated that the Secretary of State was unavailable due to travel from the G7 in Japan.
  • The Minister responded that the rules in question were active during much of the last Labour Government's tenure.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Justin Madders Lab Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
Benefits & Welfare
Context

Pre-1997 occupational pension defined-benefit schemes were not required to be indexed, affecting many retirees.

Question

What support he provides to people whose pre-1997 occupational pensions are not subject to indexation.

Answer from Laura Trott

You will notice, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I am not the Secretary of State. He sends his apologies as he is currently travelling back from the G7 in Japan, but we will endeavour to do a reasonable job in his absence. Pre-1997, as the hon. Gentleman knows, occupational pension defined-benefit schemes were not required to be indexed.

Not addressed: The issue of support for people with non-indexed pre-1997 pensions was avoided by noting that such schemes were not required to be indexed and deferring the answer to the Secretary of State.

How: Deflecting Responsibility To The Secretary Of State

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Q2 Justin Madders Lab Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
Benefits & Welfare
Context

Inflation is affecting retirees with occupational pension schemes that have pre-1997 service not index-linked, impacting those in the Pension Protection Fund.

Question

Will the Department carry out an audit of how many people are being affected by non-indexed pre-1997 occupational pension rules and to what extent?

Answer from Laura Trott

Those rules were in place for a large period of the last Labour Government, and if Labour Members were interested in changing them, I suggest they should have done so at the time.

Not addressed: The issue was avoided by blaming the previous Labour government for not addressing these rules during their tenure.

How: Blaming The Previous Labour Government

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