Pension scheme member attacks regulator

Around 500 members of the Carrington Wire pension scheme, who are supported by Barnsley Central Labour MP Dan Jarvis, are calling on the Pensions Regulator to name a date when the investigation into the fate of their pension fund will be completed.

The Yorkshire Post understands that the fund has a pension deficit of around £18m, although this figure can fluctuate due to changes in the stock market and reviews by actuaries.

Some pension fund members, including Darren Rhodes, who worked as a technical manager at Carrington Wire, fear they could lose tens of thousands of pounds.

Last year, Carrington Wire, based in Elland, West Yorkshire, closed down with the loss of more than 80 jobs. Russian parent company Severstal, which bought the firm in 2006, said the decision was due to a contraction in the market for steel wire.

Earlier this year, representatives of the former employees at Carrington Wire said they were seeking talks with Severstal to ensure that guarantees were put in place to safeguard payments being made into the company’s defined benefit pension scheme.

In 2010, Craig Whittaker, the Conservative MP for Calder Valley, wrote to the Pensions Regulator, asking him to investigate the position of the Carrington Wire pension scheme, after Carrington Wire was sold out of the Severstal group.

Mr Jarvis wrote to Steve Webb, the Minister of State for Pensions, to ask why it had taken nine months for the Pensions Regulator to begin an investigation into the transfer of the Carrington Wire pension fund. Mr Jarvis also wanted to know what protections were in place to ensure that pension commitments were honoured in cases like Carrington Wire.

Mr Rhodes who worked at Carrington Wire for 23 years, and made pension contributions for 15 years, said: “I followed the Government’s advice and from an early age put as much money as I could into my pension. I’m devastated. I would like some legislation put in place to stop anyone else being affected in such a manner.

“If the scheme falls into the Pension Protection Fund I could end up with just 70 per cent (of my pension).

“The Pensions Regulator seems to be just another toothless Government quango. We have been waiting for 14 months for the Pensions Regulator to take any kind of action. We should have a clear timelines about when it’s going to be dealt with.”

Donald Richardson, another member of the pension fund, who worked at Carrington Wire for 15 years in the transport and purchasing department, said the Pensions Regulator had “not been at all helpful’’, adding: “If it hadn’t been for this group (of pension fund members) nothing would have happened.”

His wife Christine, who was a sales administrator at Carrington Wire, added: “This is not a small thing to us. It’s 500 people and their livelihoods.”

Debra Tomczuk, Carrington Wire’s former finance director, said she might have to work until she was at least 67, unless payments were made into the company’s defined benefit pension scheme.

Mr Jarvis said yesterday: “The Pensions Regulator has serious questions they still need to answer on the Carrington Wire case.

“They may be disputing the length of time it took to deal with the case but from what I have heard, they are not disputing the cruellest fact of all; honest, hard-working individuals from across Yorkshire, including some of my constituents in Barnsley, are set to lose tens of thousands of pounds of their pensions and so far, the regulator has done little to help alleviate these fears.”

“I have a very simply message for the pensions regulator – name your date. We want to know when you are going to finally deal with the Carrington Wire case and how you intend to help these workers save their pensions.”

A spokesman for the Pensions Regulator said: “We understand the concerns of members of the Carrington Wire Pensions Scheme and we do have an ongoing investigation into this scheme. Unfortunately, the Pensions Act 2004 provides very real restrictions on how much information we can disclose.”

The Yorkshire Post understands that two senior figures from Severstal and a former senior manager are due to come to the UK later this year to speak to the Pensions Regulator. The Yorkshire Post also understands that the Pensions Regulator disputes Mr Jarvis’s claim that it took nine months to launch an investigation.

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment on a case that is still being investigated by the Pensions Regulator.”

A spokesman for Severstal said the company had no comment.

FORMER KEY PART OF INDUSTRY

CARRINGTON Wire was a key part of the UK steel industry for most of its history.

At its peak, the company employed around 2,000 staff. The company also had an operation in Cardiff, which closed in late 2007.

Carrington Wire’s Elland plant made products for industries ranging from retail to aerospace.

The plant had suffered from declining sales for around five years.

In a statement issued in 2010, Severstal said that “in spite of financial support and initiatives to return the business to profitability, including the consolidation of manufacturing at Elland, Carrington Wire is no longer viable”.