DISPUTE OVER PENSIONS ACTION GROUP’S QUESTIONS ABOUT FAS IMPLEMENTATION

Pensions Action Group Press Release
24th March 2005

Sandra Osborne, Labour MP for Ayr, held a pensions summit at Portcullis House on the afternoon of Monday 21st March. A separate press release about this summit will be released shortly.

After the summit had finished Tony McWalter, Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead (who had not attended), came into the room and vociferously demanded the withdrawal of a previous Pensions Action Group press release which raised serious questions about the implementation details of the FAS. He described the release as appalling, and stated that it caused unnecessary concern for those outside the FAS window. He demanded the Pensions Action Group withdraw the release and issue an apology

The Pensions Action Group believe Tony McWalter is objecting to the highlighted phrase in the sentence:
It is thought that some 15,000 people will benefit, but this still leaves well over 50,000 people with no idea of what pension, if any, they will receive.

The Pension Action Group responds with two simple questions:-
1) Will every person not in the window receive the same assistance as people in the window, with inflation protection for their extra waiting time?
2) Will there be any exclusions on the grounds of age? There are already exclusions for people with pensions under £500pa and we believe there may be a lower age cut-off as well

Unless the answer to the first question is an unconditional 'Yes' and the answer to the second an unconditional 'No' the concerns expressed in the press release are valid.

The Pensions Action Group thinks it has committed the cardinal sin of asking awkward questions in public 
 

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