06 September 2007
The Department for Work and Pensions has issued the following
press release:
"The team working on the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS)
Assets Review has issued a final call to trustees of final salary
pension schemes, which have wound up under funded and still have a
solvent employer, to come forward.
One facet of the review, led by Andrew Young, is to investigate
the circumstances of winding up schemes with solvent employers and
review their potential for inclusion in the FAS.
The Government has already said it will extend the FAS to
include schemes with "compromise agreements" between trustees and
solvent employers. This will pick up schemes where trustees have
agreed to accept less money than they are owed on behalf of members
to avoid forcing the employer into insolvency.
The Assets Review was further asked to consider the position of
all other schemes which claim they are in a closely analogous
position to schemes with compromise agreements.
Andrew Young said: "We want schemes with a solvent employer to
have had the opportunity to provide us with information. The
review's final report is due before the end of the year so I urge
them to get in touch urgently.
"The review has received a number of helpful representations in
the last few months - but we believe there may still be schemes out
there that haven't come forward.
"We're keen to get a greater understanding of these schemes'
circumstances to help us make clear recommendations on their
suitability for inclusion in the FAS." "
