Anna Rogers comments in Pensions Expert on HPE pensioners’ demand to MPs for new right to increases on pre-97 pensions
Pensioners of Hewlett Packard Enterprises are lobbying the government to force their former employer to provide inflation protection for pension rights built up before 1997, and have gained cross-party support for legislation.
Around 100,000 members across the UK are thought to have seen their defined benefit pensions slowly eroded by inflation. According to a campaign group, 3,500 pensioners of the Digital Equipment Company pension plan, now a section of the Hewlett Packard Retirement Benefits Plan, have each lost an average of around £24,000 in real terms.
The Hewlett Packard Pensioners Association will present its concerns to up to 150 MPs at the Houses of Parliament on Thursday, at an event hosted by Hugo Swire, Conservative MP for East Devon.
The HPPA has maintained it is not seeking retrospective legislation, as it only wants uprating to take effect from today. This would lessen the financial burden on sponsors compared with a backdated bill.
However, Anna Rogers commented that their proposal for legislation may still count as retrospective for legal purposes.
“It’s still saying that a pension that was earned before 1997 should now carry increases,” she said, doubting the possibility of passing such a law.
“There’s a retrospective element to it, even if it’s only relevant to future payments.”
Read the full article in Pensions Expert here
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