Norton pension schemes and the Fraud Compensation Fund inquiry: Work and Pensions Committee to question Pensions Ombudsman, The Pensions Regulator and Pension Protection Fund
In the final session of the inquiry examining the lessons that can be learned from the experience of the collapse of the Norton pension schemes, the Work and Pensions Committee questions the regulatory and statutory bodies involved in investigating what went wrong, taking enforcement action and providing compensation to scheme members.
Meeting details
The Committee hears first from The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO), which received complaints from scheme members. Questions are likely to focus on the investigation process TPO went through, the reasons behind the determination of the complaints and the powers TPO has in relation to pension scams.
The second panel features The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Pension Protection Fund, which is responsible for administering the Fraud Compensation Fund (FCF). Representatives from TPR are likely to be asked about the measures that were in place to protect pension benefits, TPR’s powers to intervene and take enforcement action and how it used them in this case. Witnesses from the Pension Protection Fund could face questions about how it reached decisions relating to the case and whether there is scope to speed up the process of assessing eligibility for compensation and making payments from the FCF.