MPs challenge government over Equitable Life compensation

Can we please, please, please accept there is no money left and stop arguing and just pay nothing?

Correct me if I am wrong but weren't most MP's who took out a FSAVC with Equitable Life and the Judges, Senior Police, Civil Servants, Accountants and Lawyers? Think this may explain what is again going on in London whilst the rest of the country sees their pensions go to hell in a handcart! Bad investment choice - no money - tough luck - for that is what we normally get from the FSA - bet they have a lot with Equitable Life as well!

No a lot of 'little people' with modest savings and pensions went to EL (in a hancart) too.

MPs were quick to get out on terms more generous than the rest of us were offered.

No problem just pay up. Only another few pence on income tax and look at the thousand pounds /hour this will generate for the lawyers. Then they will pay tax on their profit. So we all win. Don't we ?

I used to be a well-paid IT consultant and I had well over £100k with EL, When I pulled it out, they had raised the exit fee to 16%, so I lost a lot. I had chosen them because of their safe reputation, believing also that the FSA gave protection. I don't realistically expect to see my money again, but the impact needs recognising:

a) After my loss, I stopped saving for a pension. This is not an impact the country can afford - saving for retirement is something to encourage, not discourage.

b) If there was no regulatory body, one could say that we must all do our own due diligence. But the presence of the FSA means that we should be able to relax on this a little. If the FSA is then negligent, they need to be 'punished' in some way.

I know money is tight, but there is a principle at stake here. Perhaps they should just scrap all regulatory bodies, if messing up means nothing. Otherwise, losses should be recoverable.

For those who say there should not be any compensation for EL investors, if they had any money with RBS, Northern Rock or Bradford and Bingley or the Icelandic banks two years ago I hope they will be happy to pay all that money over to the exchequer as it would have been lost without the support extended by the government then.

The government and its agencies had responsibility for regulating EL as it did for regulating the banking system and failed. With EL it failed for 10 years through the 1990s. It is not the fault of policyholders that they have had to wait a further 10 years through deliberate government foot-dragging until we reached a time when public finances are so stretched.

The present government, when in opposition, pressed for fair compensation to be paid. The Chadwick enquiry was designed by Gordon Brown to reduce the compensation to the least possible. It is hypocritical of the government to espouse Chadwick now. The Parliamentary Obmudsment carried out a thorough enquiry and recommended compensation for government failure. Her recommendations should be the baseline, That is the point of having an Ombudsman.

Most EL investors were not fat cats and many have suffered grievously. Many have died waiting for redress.

"for that is what we normally get from the FSA - bet they have a lot with Equitable Life as well!"

From what I can gather they, along with MP's, managed to get their money out before it went pear shaped!

Too much emotion and ill-informed generalities here.

Facts: I lost £60,000 I can ill afford, having now retired. I now work part time at age 67 to support a modest way of life.

Fact: EL missold pensions knowing they were already technically insolvent

Fact. The FSA failed to control and rein in EL for several years

Fact: The Parliament Ombudsman recommended a fair settlement (not all by any means)

Fact: The Labour government ducked and dived for a decade, hoping it would go away (and claimants would die off!)

Fact. Everyone is facing a 20-30% reduction in income: EL claimants face 80-90% reduction

Fact: it was not a dodgy investment. It was a deliberate scam and fraud, in which EL and the Labour government conspired, or at best looked the other way.

It needs to be repeated that MP's and some civil servants were 'given' very generous preferential terms to transfer their EL AVC's while ALL other EL pension holders had a penal circa 45% early withdrawal charges applied. Greedy MP's suffered no hardship at all and that is why they have no interest in EL pension holders.

It seems to me that the problems suffered by EL clients and their non- resolution prefigure those of Keydata products missold by the Norwich & Peterborough. That was FSA approved too. Our national regulatory bodies are impotent. Why should we trust their adjudication on compensation?

Why should the taxpayer have to pay for the investment mistakes of these poor accountants/ solicitors/MPs/civil servants/doctors/etc'etc'etc. These profesional people have benefitted from a good education and in many cases,with the support of taxpayer. Why didn't they use this education to improve their intelligence, and invest their pensions into the Managed funds.And yes with AAA rated Equitable LIfe. As I did? Give the taxpayer a break, don't keep crying over your mistakes.

Why should the taxpayer have to pay for the investment mistakes of these poor accountants/ solicitors/MPs/civil servants/doctors/etc'etc'etc. These profesional people have benefitted from a good education and in many cases,with the support of taxpayer. Why didn't they use this education to improve their intelligence, and invest their pensions into the Managed funds.And yes with AAA rated Equitable LIfe. As I did? Give the taxpayer a break, don't keep crying over your mistakes.

You may be shocked to hear this, Norman, but not all of us are professionals in everything, or professionals at all-- which is why we took 'advice'. Hundreds of people are currently living on very little as a result.

You may be shocked to hear this, Norman, but not all of us are professionals in everything, or professionals at all-- which is why we took 'advice'. Hundreds of people are currently living on very little as a result.

Regulatory failure is the issue. If the government now in power doesn't support the Ombudsman reports (and the European critisism) then that failure is ongoing, and as others have said what is the point of these bodies?

As a very modest fund holder in his fifties at the time the option of transfering elsewhere was not viable leaving one, like many, trapped. The government should pay up and put an end to this sorry saga.

We're not crying chum, just very very angry....

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office"

Aesop 600BC

Terence don't be angry,Think of other pensioners/taxpayers.I worked until I was 78,

Mr Williams: you say that "It needs to be repeated that MP's and some civil servants were 'given' very generous preferential terms to transfer their EL AVC's while ALL other EL pension holders had a penal circa 45% early withdrawal charges applied. Greedy MP's suffered no hardship at all and that is why they have no interest in EL pension holders. "

EMAG the EL action group would love to hear from you about that!

Working until 78: good for you and I hope to do the same! :)

Pay UP CamerClegg AND IN FULL...

There is plenty of money to honour the Ombudsman's findings in full:=

* whilst state worker bosses pensions - just look at the BBC! - are allowed to be paid in full as they are largely unfunded or boosted by direct pension bonus top up payments.

*The like of Lord Mandelson get eye watering transitional payments paid for by us taxpayers

* MP's get a non means tested second homes allowance that is in many cases still claimed wrongly for their own properties or own family properties held via trust devices and ruses.

*Defence spending is more than needed given that we should pull out of Afghanistan tomorrow and be safer from our own(sic) fanatical muslims.

*If Hilary Clinton wants us to continue to pull ahead of our weight in NATO she must pay for it. After all we were bled dry by USA Lend Lease that kept my childhood in post WW2 Britain impoverished and has only just been paid off.

* The NHS is riddled with expensive deadwood and the expensive report saying it needs cutting by at least 30% goes unimplemented. Retrieve it from the waste bin NOW.

*The police are overpaid, over-pensioned and ineffectual in many important areas tending to pick on easy target from the plethora of PC laws on race and religion that Nu Labour foisted upon us after having allowed a multi-cultural revolution to take place by poor illegal immigration enforcement.

One could go on and on but anyone who thinks regulatory mistakes do not need to be paid for is wrong. Very wrong. And yes I am an Ex Elas WPA who has lost 50%+ of his pension with more cuts to come and the democratic process requires that the Parliamentary Ombudsman's findings saying we are due compensation is paid in full.

Jock. I agree with much of what you say with the exception of pulling out of Afghanistan. This will result in the the Taliban getting control of Pakistans military capability, and with Iran also flexing its muscles we would have all the ingredients for a much more serious and costley problem in the future. I also do not accept that the taxpayers and the majority of pensioners should bear the full cost of EL investers problems. £1.5 billion is more than enough.

Norman Savory - We must agree to disagree over Pakistan. However as a nuclear power it is a great threat/worry. History tells us Afghanistan is untameable and you should not underestimate the "hate" generated in UK Muslims by our fights with Islamic countries. This is the bigger threat and needs bold action to beat it as most European Christian countries are finding out. Only this weekend Angela Merkel - German Chancellor admitted on TV the failing of multi-cultutralism. They have the same Islamic Fifth Columnist Jihadi problems.

As to other taxpayers paying Equitable compensation, well every day they subsidise to the tune of millions non funded, non paid for, public sector pensions in payment. How fair/just is that? Not at all. Poor regulation has to be compensated for else in full. End of story.