Welsh Secretary rejects latest plea from pension campaigners
Martin Shipton
Retired steelworkers who were deprived of their full pensions after their employer went bust are angry that recently appointed Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock has rejected their plea for a UK Government rethink.
When Cardiff firm Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) ceased trading in 2002, workers initially believed their full pension entitlements would be honoured.
But that turned out not to be the case, and nearly a quarter of a century later they are still campaigning for all their pensions to be fully indexed to inflation – a concession that successive governments have not been prepared to make.
In the latest blow to their cause, they have received a letter from Mr Kinnock which states: “I recognise the strength of feeling among former ASW workers and understand why many members continue to feel deeply aggrieved about the losses they experienced following the failure of their pension scheme.
“I am also conscious that this has been a long-running issue and that many former members have campaigned for many years to secure what they regard as a fair outcome.
“The Government has listened to concerns raised by ASW pensioners and other members of the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS), including concerns about the lack of increases on pension rights accrued before 6 April 1997. As a result, the Pension Schemes Act 2026 introduces inflation-linked increases on these elements of FAS payments where the original scheme rules provided for such increases.
“These changes will benefit former ASW workers and represent the most significant improvement to the scheme for many years. We expect the new arrangements to come into force in time for the first increases to be paid from January 2027. The increases will be linked to CPI, subject to an annual cap of 2.5%, and will apply to future payments.
“While the FAS was not designed to provide full restoration of all lost scheme benefits, these reforms provide meaningful additional support to affected members while balancing wider responsibilities to taxpayers and the public finances.
“I appreciate that many former ASW workers remain disappointed that the changes do not go further. However, the concerns of former ASW workers have been heard, and these reforms were introduced in recognition of the genuine impact this issue has had on pensioners and their families.”
John Benson, one of the leading ASW pension campaigners, has responded to Mr Kinnock, describing the content of his letter as “a load of horse dung”.
‘Fully protected’
In a letter to the Welsh Secretary, he states: “We were encouraged to save into a company pension scheme by ministers in successive UK Governments, were told these pensions were safe and fully protected by law no matter what difficulties our employer faced.
“An extra 2.5% pre-1997 indexation starting in January 2027 means on average that a former ASW steelworker will receive a massive increase of about £3 a week. Innocent victims played by the rules, and have had thousands, tens of thousands and in many cases hundreds of thousands of pounds cruelly stolen from them. Just 2.5% CPI starting January 2027 is a bloody insult.
“The shameless Pensions Minister, Swansea West MP Torsten Bell, used every dirty trick in the book in the House of Commons to deny us the pensions we fully paid for.
“We the steelworkers, like the mineworkers, worked hard to secure a decent retirement for ourselves and our families, and have been stitched up by a UK Labour government again. So Secretary of State, stop the horse dung and just pay up. Stop being a messenger for the Treasury and stop sticking two fingers up to Welsh families.
“If you care about Wales and the people of Wales, get me a meeting with the Prime Minister as soon as possible. We are not going away.”
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This is a fine example of why populist Andy Burnham replaced Jo Stevens with a like-for-like, anti-Wales England overseer Stephen Kinnock. It shows that Labour are again spitting in the faces of Welsh steelworkers. But consider this. Labour refuses to help those Welsh steelworkers, yet has committed [£3] billion per year in military aid to Ukraine until 2030–31, or for as long as it takes, while still refusing to help retrieve the pensions stolen by Cardiff firm Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) in 2002. Until Wales cuts any connection with Labour, we will be forever used and abused, and you… Read more »
Bullseye…!
Well! Colour me shocked! Kinocchio 2 follows the quisling lead of his dad & puts obedience to Westminster Labour before his countrymen! Who would have thought that he would follow almost step for step the betrayal of his Labour Apparatchik forebears!?
Welsh workers sold down the river by the latest in a long line Labour careerist? Yet his constituency actually covers our once proud steel town? 0
This is a grey area.If the government gives 100% resotration, including compensation for inflation and lost benefits, it creates a really awkward precedent. Any other compay PPF protects them, but they receive less than the original promise. Or consider millions of DC savers who simply have to accept that their retirement income depends upon investment returns. personally, I’m uncomfortable with ASW case. This is basically transfering a private-sector investment/employer risk to the taxpayer after the event. public-sector pension schemes already operate under a fundamentally different risk structure. Obviously public-service schemes are unfunded and ultimately backed by the state/taxpayer -but it’s… Read more »
I was under the impression that what happened to their pensions cannot happen again due to law changes. If that is the case then this historic injustice would not set a precedent as I am not aware of other such cases with so many former workers robbed of their pensions. However I am happy to be corrected if this is not the case!
You’re right. But the precedent the government is worried about setting is that there will never be a precedent again. It will just be a free for all. sadly, you have to draw lines somewhere. it’s a small amount of money. They could easily afford it. I largely expect they know that by giving in on this, they’ll be open to future legal actions, which is why they’re resisting in this example. I see the abuse they’re getting on this forum – but ironically, it actually it’s about protecting people and the public and I think on balance, they’re doing… Read more »
I have met a few of them and they feel absolutely betrayed by both their previous employer and UK govts. If they would be open to other legal challenges by compensating these workers then they need to be clear about this, as I am not aware of other large employers who have done the same and would in theory be able to make a claim off the back of such a precedent; these would be before the law change was made.
Are you saying that if the new rules were applied retrospectively this once there would suddenly be a whole bunch of other historic claims? Any info on the number and scale of these or is it unknowable because it would it trigger an inheritance treasure hunt by descendents who might claim on behalf of long deceased relatives?
Still no mention of senior execs who left ASW just before it went bust with good payoffs and topped up pensions. Just the sort that Labour will look after as they are all part of a well connected daisy chain of politicians and business types. Kinnock performing as expected, boy will do well in this murky government gang
I think the actual ASW accounts, directors remuneration disclosures, pension arrangements etc and the receiver’s report showed they didn’t recive top ups. Two of them left before entering recievership – but who wouldn’t?. If you knew company was going under, and you had a £1m pension pot to worry about, you’ll look after yourself.
On your second point, obviously kinnock isn’t that well connected
You are kidding. Kinnock is very well connected in the wider European context with a few strings he can pull via his wife and with other EU figures.
As for some ex ASW execs they were granted pensions without full dilution for early departure. That in turn dilutes the pool available for others, and would not necessarily show up in any accounts.
But the Labour government has just given over £4bn to the Mineworkers from their fund’s reserves, isn’t that a precedent? What’s the difference? The PPF that pays these steelworkers has nearly £5bn reserves, and the government of the day took nearly £2bn from the residual assets of these failed company schemes.
Isn’t this for Liz Kendall to fix. Kinnock’s job is just to make folks feel bad about wanting better.
It takes a really sleazy turncoat to betray his country. I bet Neil is really proud of his offspring.
His country?
The country which he holds a seat in Parliament for.
Stephen Kinnock joins a long list of Welsh “champagne socialists” so don’t expect him to rock any gravy boats during his tenure.
Stephen ‘Vestas’ Kinnock showing his true colours. Like every other previous governer of Wales he is here to act as a barrier to prevent Wales being heard in Westminster
“Welsh Secretary” is not a real job
Has a Kinnock ever done a single thing for Wales?
He doesn’t care two hoots. He won’t be wanting when he retires. I’m alright Jack attitude.
No surprise there. This is the man whose spineless father betrayed the miners and did not back the miners, even in his community. Then he and his wife freeload with the EU. Stephen Kinnock, like father like son. Traitors all to their people. Dic Siôn Dafydd’s.
What Stephen Kinnock is not telling the steelworkers or Wales, a senior Minister in Labour told the ASW steelworkers prior to the Election that Labours front bench were going to do all that was possible to get their Pensions restored.
Starmer, Reeves and Bell renegade on that promise when in Government