Pensions protestors march on Downing Street

Last updated at 16:08 30 October 2005


Protesters dressed in Halloween costume descended on Whitehall today to deliver a letter of complaint over the loss of their pensions.

The Pensions Action Group, which represents 85,000 people who lost all, or most of their occupational pension when their employer's pension scheme closed, marched to Downing Street and past the House of Commons to draw attention to their cause.

The group are awaiting the results of the Parliamentary Ombudsman's inquiry into the Government's administration of final salary pensions, which was due to be announced in July this year. The delay is the result of the Government submitting more evidence to the inquiry.

Andrew Parr, spokesperson for the Pensions Action Group and editor of the website www.pensionstheft.org said: "Why the delay? It is absolutely frustrating. You really don't know how it eats into your life not having a pension. My pension has gone. What am I going to do for the rest of my life?"

"We are waiting for the Ombudsman's report to come out, and there will almost certainly be further action. We are not going away. My message to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown is - you told us our pensions were safe and protected - where are they?"

In 2004, the Chancellor acknowledged the pensions crisis and promised to, "work with the unions to do what it takes to tackle the gross injustice of the workers who, through no fault of their own, find their pensions have been destroyed." The Pensions Action Group say they are "still waiting" for action to be taken.

However, the Government has taken steps to address the problem with the Financial Assistance Scheme in the recent Pensions Act but the Pensions Action Group claim it is not sufficient to address their needs and has said in the letter: "If we do not receive compensation, how will anyone ever be able to trust the Government's word on pensions in future?

"We feel that the Government is not taking our plight seriously, and despite much time and many promises, we still face retirement in poverty."

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