MP supports bill

3:14pm Monday 5th November 2007

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STOURBRIDGE MP Lynda Waltho is sponsoring a Bill that will allow people under 50 diagnosed with a terminal illness to access the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

Unlike final salary pension schemes, the PPF does not allow early payment of pension savings, for whatever reason, to anyone under 50.

But the Access to Pension Protection Fund Benefits Bill will lift the current bar.

Lynda said: "As well as provoking feelings of grief, and anger and loss, having a terminal illness can be expensive, often in ways that have not been expected. This Bill will make a big difference, financially, emotionally and practically to those diagnosed with a terminal illness.

"It might easily be the case that people in their 30s and 40s could have made anything between 15 and 30 years of payments into a scheme, but do not qualify to receive benefits under the PPF rules, even though their original scheme would have paid out.

"For anyone under 50 and terminally ill, savings taken on by the PPF simply disappear.

"The fund has proved to be an invaluable safety net to thousands of workers who would otherwise have lost substantial pension savings."