I have campaigned for better support for local workers – such as those at Kalamazoo – who lost their pension rights when their firms go bust. Last month, the government announced the details of the Financial Assistance Scheme which included the levels of assistance that eligible members will receive when the FAS starts making payments.
The FAS will provide:
– assistance to all those within three years of scheme pension age as at 14th May 2004, which will mean a payment broadly equivalent to 80% of the core rights they had accrued in their pension scheme.
When the announcement was made on this in the House of Commons, I was there.
I welcome this announcement on the Financial Assistance Scheme. It is certainly very good news for workers and retired workers at Kalamazoo in Northfield and UEF in Bromsgrove, amongst many others. Those who are most urgently in need of help will receive it and I am pleased that the Government has taken this step. There is, however, still more to do to address the needs of younger workers, and that is why I am also pleased that the Government has committed to holding a financial review on the scheme to look at funding in future years.
