AEA Technology Pension Case

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 20 Jan 2023 Closed: 24 Sep 2023 Parliament page
Following its work on the British Steel Pension Scheme , the Committee will question Government Actuary Martin Clarke and Karl Banister, Director of Operations, Legal and Clinical, from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the Atomic Energy Agency Technology pension case. This inquiry is based on an ongoing NAO … Read more
3 Recommendations
17 Conclusions
2 Reports
1 Oral session
3 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 8 events
23 Nov
2023
Report published
24 Sep
2023
Report published
11 Jul
2023
Correspondence
14 Jun
2023
Report published
17 Apr
2023
Correspondence
17 Apr
2023
Correspondence
13 Mar
2023
Oral evidence
13 Mar
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
13 Mar 2023
View on parliament.uk
AEA Technology pension case
Karl Banister · Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Martin Clarke · Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) Tom Josephs · Department for Work and Pensions
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Rejected
Fifty-Seventh Report - AEA Technol…
Ensure independent review for AEAT pension scheme members' long-standing complaints.
AEAT pension scheme members have been passed from one part of government to another, with no department taking overall responsibility for their complaints. Scheme members have raised complaints with government since 2012 covering a range of issues that involve several … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees with the recommendation, stating that complaints have already been considered by ombudsmen whose remits are statutory policy matters. It adds that the 2013 Fair Deal policy prevents similar situations from arising again.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Seventh Report - AEA Technol…
Evidence heard from DWP, GAD, and PHSO regarding AEAT privatised pensions.
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) on the pensions transferred … Read more
Government Response
The government disagrees, stating that Pension Protection Fund indexation rules are set out in legislation and changing them would require a change in law, which is a policy matter.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Seventh Report - AEA Technol…
AEAT pension members lose significant real value due to inadequate inflation protection in PPF.
Since the scheme entered the PPF, members have lost money in real terms each year because the compensation they receive does not include rises for inflation. PPF compensation initially provides members 100% of their pension if they had already reached … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that changing the Pension Protection Fund indexation rules would require legislative change and is therefore a policy matter on which they cannot respond further.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Seventh Report - AEA Technol…
AEAT pension scheme members received unsatisfactory and inconsistent responses to their long-standing complaints.
From 2012 onwards, scheme members raised a series of complaints with multiple government organisations and were dissatisfied with the responses they received. In July 2013, DWP produced a factsheet summarising the complaints government had received and a response to each … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the conclusion, stating that complaints were already considered by relevant government bodies. They indicate that changing an ombudsman's remit is a policy matter, and existing 2013 Fair Deal policy prevents similar circumstances from reoccurring.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Seventh Report - AEA Technol…
Government departments showed unclear responsibility for AEAT pensions, creating further confusion for members.
When we asked it why no part of government had taken responsibility for the issue, DWP described pensions policy as a complex and wide-ranging area which touches on a number of departments. DWP is responsible for private sector pensions rather … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that changing the ombudsman's remit is a policy matter and the 2013 Fair Deal policy prevents similar situations from reoccurring.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Seventh Report - AEA Technol…
Government has not independently reviewed AEAT complaints, and ombudsman services lack jurisdiction for investigation.
Government has not commissioned any independent review into the complaints raised by AEAT members, and all of the relevant ombudsman services have said they cannot investigate the information government provided in 1996.19 PHSO told us it is unable to investigate … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that changing the ombudsman's remit is a policy matter and the 2013 Fair Deal policy ensures similar circumstances will not reoccur in the future.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Rejected
Fifty-Seventh Report - AEA Technol…
Government’s Fair Deal policy seeks to prevent future pension issues, yet ombudsman jurisdiction gaps persist.
We asked how government can ensure that, if a similar thing were to happen again, pensioners making complaints would not be shunted from pillar to post in trying to make appeals and getting no advice or satisfaction. DWP told us … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that changing the ombudsman's remit is a policy matter and the 2013 Fair Deal policy ensures similar circumstances will not reoccur in the future.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 17 of 3 classified
Accepted 5
Deferred 5
Rejected 7
Total 3 recs + 17 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
11 Jul 2023 Correspondence from William Wragg MP, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, re Public Accounts Committee – Report on the AEA Technology Pension Case, dated 4 July 2023
Parliament page
17 Apr 2023 Correspondence from Tom Josephs, Director, Private Pensions and Arm’s Length Bodies Department for Work and Pensions, re DWP follow up to the Public Accounts Committee Hearing on Atomic Energy Authority Technology pension scheme 13 March 2023, dated 4 April 2023
Parliament page
17 Apr 2023 Correspondence from Martin Clarke, Government Actuary, Government Actuary’s Department, re Public Accounts Committee Hearing 13th March 2023 – AEAT Pension Scheme, dated 27 March 2023
Parliament page