The trustees of the £10.5bn Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme have met with government ministers to discuss surplus sharing rules following changes announced in the 2024 Budget.
Trustees held a meeting with Chris McDonald, the minister for industry within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, on 30 April in an effort to reach an “acceptable and fair agreement” on how the scheme’s surplus can be used.
The government agreed to transfer the assets from a reserve fund to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS) in October 2024, with members granted a 32% bonus pension payment as a result.
However, the scheme’s trustees have initiated further discussions with MPs after a similar decision for the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme led to permanent increases in member benefits, rather than one-off payments.
In a written statement to parliament on Monday (18 May), McDonald said: “The government is keen to reach agreement with the MPS trustees on changes to the arrangements to benefit scheme members.
“The meeting on 30 April involved a constructive discussion of the proposals and how they might be taken forward. The government is mindful of the need to resolve this issue as swiftly as possible, and will make an announcement once agreement has been reached.”
In a separate statement, the MPS trustee board also described the discussion as “constructive” but added that “there is significant work to do over the next few months before an acceptable and fair agreement can hopefully be reached”.
As well as making the 2024 bonus payments permanent, the trustees have also asked for permission to use a further £1bn in undistributed surplus to provide an additional bonus payment for this year, and to allow 100% of future funding surpluses to be used to boost member benefits. They have also called for the government to consider linking all bonus payments to inflation.
