Ombudsman denounces proposed £400m Equitable payout

I agree that the foot dragging is helping no-one. Let's agree there is no taxpayer money left and let people move on with their lives.

I am now retired having contributed to private pension plans for over 30 years.

The final pension was less than HALF the pension forecast when these plans were taken out. Scottish Equitable and National Provident were both taken over, and look what happened to Equitable. What assurance does anyone have who sets up a pension plan TODAY that the Company will still be in business when they come to drawn their pension in 40 years time! You hand over your money and have no effective control for upto 40 years!! If the Govt wants people to invest in a pension plan they will have top provide some cast iron guarantees, otherwise I would put my money into investment trusts/funds and retain CONTROL. It may not be so tax efficient but you will not be at the mercy of annutiy rates which is another racket!

This government is a cynical and dishonest as its immediate predecessor.

The government is at fault and refuses to admit to its full liability to EL policy holders.

Why not pay what is affordable now and the rest later when the economic shambles left by Labour has been put right and the economy is moving forward in a few years' time.

Most governments start with the best intentions of morality, transparency and honesty, but that these qualities are corrupted over time. The Thatcher government took several years to to achieve full corruption, Tony Blair & Co. a few months. This government has achieved it in about two weeks.

Who is Sir John Chadwick? Yet another ill educated, anumerate, half witted judge who lost his grio on life half a century ago. Why don't we all just march on Parliament and beat the 650 swine to death?

Why should I and millions of other tax payers bail these people out? its scandalous that government should give our money away to people who must have known that the Equitable Life's promises were unsustianable (too go to be true). Had they taken Independent Advice in the first place they wouldn't have been so nieve as to think that Equitable Life could provide returns well inexcess of most other providers. Many of these people had a smug attitude about being with Equitable Life because they didn't have to pay commission to the advisers. My spread of personal pensions did very well over the longer term.

I thought that the whole issue was not so much the unsustainable promises made by EL, but the fact that when fund holders where able to make transfers to other pension funds, they were advised by the Government not to and that despite the problems, EL was still viable. Following this, more and more dilutions took place that further diminished the funds, and reduced the pensions of existing claimants already locked in. Had the Government not meddled in this, then I would have less sympathy with the fund holders, as they would have probably cut and run. As it stands the Government mislead the public and should bear the consequences, especially after all the bail outs of Icelandic Banks etc. Or am I wrong?