Overview
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves told MPs the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme reserve will be transferred to members.
- Around 40,000 former coal industry staff and dependents will receive a new bonus pension worth 41% of their guaranteed pension, backdated to 1 November 2024.
- Members should receive enhanced monthly payments plus a backdated lump sum, with some reports citing a target start in late December that has not yet been confirmed.
- MPs and campaigners from coalfield constituencies welcomed the move as pension justice after years of lobbying, with notable beneficiary counts reported in areas including Nottinghamshire, Easington, Ayrshire, and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
- The decision reverses past surplus-sharing that sent £3.1bn to the Treasury from 1995–2015 and follows a similar transfer for the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme last year.