In 2011, a group of activists had the opportunity to sit in a room and tell a UK government minister about the pension money they lost when their former employer went bankrupt. Of those who went to London that day, four died without returning the money.

Allied Steel & Wire (ASW) collapsed in 2002, with a pension fund deficit of £21 million. Around 1,000 steelworkers lost their jobs, along with pension savings that had been paid into the scheme since the early 1980s. John Benson and Phil Jones are two of the most passionate activists.

They wrote countless letters, lobbied politicians and traveled a lot – including to the European Court in Luxembourg – but, as they grew older, they saw their friends, former colleagues and campaign colleagues die without getting their money back.

The last face-to-face meeting with the UK government was in 2011, when they met in London with Steve Webb, then pensions secretary. On Monday they held the long-awaited meeting again, but without some important members. Since the last meeting, Billy Hill, Tommy Flanagan, Paddy Morris and Johnny Jones have died. Tommy was only 62 years old and never received a penny of his pension. Around six of his former colleagues died without any resolution.

READ MORE: A man who has been fighting for a pension for 20 years and doesn’t give up even on the brink of death.

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At that 2011 meeting, Webb told activists that pensions were unlikely to be fully restored and that the government had met its commitments and provided its “fair share” of funding. John Benson has worked at ASW since 1982, after 21 years at another steel company. Following the acquisition of ASW, he said they were encouraged to contribute to the pension scheme and that it was supported by the UK government. But in 2002, employees were called into a room and told the company was going bankrupt but that their pensions were safe. A few days later it was revealed that they would lose around 85% of what they had paid, as the money in the pension fund was only enough to cover 15% of their savings.



Tommy Flanagan (right) died in 2013

A high-profile campaign resulted in the Labor government introducing a financial assistance scheme in 2007 to cover 90% of savings, but activists say this did not provide adequate protection against inflation and have continued to call for the full restoration of their pensions. Campaigners say the 17-year deal means they are only getting half of what they expected.

Benson said workers were initially told their funds would be safe. “I came home after finishing my shift and told my wife that I had lost my job but that my pension was safe and 10 days later I discovered that there was a small deficit in the pension fund that I and others could lose in the future . 85% region. This left me on the verge of a nervous breakdown and at one point I thought I might go over the edge. After all those years of heavy industry (the noise of the electric arc furnaces, the dust, the smoke, the hours of solitude) I had nothing. I applied to about 20 jobs, interviewed, but never got the job.

“I was 56, so my age was against me. After a few months of trying, I got a job at M&S ​​in Cardiff for Christmas. On December 28th I lost my job again and after trying I got a job at Cardiff Airport in Wales. Summer season, carrying 20 kilo bags on planes and off the conveyor belt, October arrived and I was unemployed again, trying to make ends meet.

“The following year, after a few more months of unemployment, I got a job at a Cardiff City Council agency, collecting rubbish and changing bins. From being in command of a large group of men and having to make important decisions about hundreds of tons of molten steel. I carried luggage and picked up trash, but I met wonderful people who did the work and I don’t regret doing it, even though the city laid me off for the winter until next April. I kept my sanity and should have retired at 65, but I worked until I was 67 because 41 years of heavy industry was taking its toll on my body.

“I, like thousands of people who suffered this inhumane injustice, was encouraged to save their pensions at the company. Like thousands of people, I have been told that these pensions are safe and fully protected. Imperfect legislation and the dishonesty of British government ministers are a major factor. They are stealing our promised pensions. “We observed the rules they told us to follow and they supported us,” he said.

They continue to pressure politicians of all stripes and levels to fight for them and are increasingly frustrated with the “cut and paste” responses they receive. For the latest news on Welsh politics, sign up to our newsletter here.

“The fact that his pension was brutally stolen destroys him. It put me on the verge of a nervous breakdown: I thought I was going to lose my home, my marriage, and at one point I reached the limit,” he said. They hope the UK government will fully restore the pensions of former steel workers at ASW and others.

Politicians including Senedd members Mark Drakeford, Andrew RT Davies, Rune ap Ioeverth and Adam Price, as well as Plaid Cymru MPs Hywel Williams and Liz Saville Roberts, are among those who have written to the UK government on his behalf . In a December 2023 letter to Andrew RT Davies, Pensions Minister Paul Maynard said: “I am aware of the problem with ASW and sympathize with former ASW members receiving less income in retirement than they expected, and with the difficulties faced by the participants. in the Financial Assistance Program (FAS), mainly due to the continued pressure on family budgets.

“FAS is taxpayer-funded and began in 2005 and provides a minimum level of assistance to members of eligible defined benefit pension plans that became underfunded between January 1, 1997 and April 5, 2005. FAS You initially receive 90% of expected pension subject to cap (£41,888 in tax year 2023-24).

“I understand that indexation under the FAS rules may differ from indexation under the rules of the underfunding scheme. However, FAS never intended to replicate the benefits of plans that did not meet their obligations. Instead, FAS aims to improve the previous situation, in which many members received significantly fewer benefits from struggling plans, and sometimes none at all, regardless of the contributions they made.

“The former ministers actively collaborated with the Pensions Advisory Group and considered very carefully the concerns that were raised about the level of protection offered by the FAS. Guy Opperman, former Minister for Pensions and Inclusion, met with members of the ASW Pension Scheme. June 16, 2021 to discuss the FAS payments they have been receiving. He listened very carefully and gave a thorough response to the questions raised at the meeting. We believe that it is necessary to find a balance between the interests of members and the interests of “FAS indexation rules reflect the legal requirements of pension plans, i.e., remuneration based on benefits accrued after April 6, 1997 increases accordingly with prices, with a limit of 2.5%.”