Opinion: Natalie Fleet meets former coal staff in Bolsover to push for pension fairness
Bolsover MP Natalie Fleet has vowed to continue her fight to help former mineworkers get a fair share of their pension fund at an event held to hear their concerns first-hand.
Natalie invited pensioners receiving the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) pension to meet with her and talk about the long-running campaign to get the Government to share out the scheme’s £2.3 billion investment reserve to scheme members.
Bolsover MP Natalie Fleet has vowed to continue her fight to help former mineworkers get a fair share of their pension fund at an event held to hear their concerns first-hand.
Natalie invited pensioners receiving the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) pension to meet with her and talk about the long-running campaign to get the Government to share out the scheme’s £2.3 billion investment reserve to scheme members.
More than 1,000 Bolsover residents are members of the BCSSS, including many female mining industry workers.
While those in the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme (MPS) received a significant boost to their pensions last year when the Government handed over that scheme’s investment reserve fund, BCSSS members are still waiting for similar changes.
Natalie and other Labour MPs representing coalfield communities have repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament — taking part in a debate on the issue last year and submitting further questions to the Treasury.
In a recent written response to one of Natalie's questions, ministers confirmed that the Government has held several meetings with BCSSS trustees and that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is working with the Treasury to move forward on the issue.
It is hoped that a positive outcome which will benefit scheme members will be announced later this year.
Natalie said: “This was a really constructive meeting with BCSSS members from the constituency. These people gave decades to the coal industry and deserve a fair and secure retirement, just like their former colleagues, who were on the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.
“BCSSS pensioners are not getting any younger, and it is vital that we keep pressing for a resolution that recognises their contribution to keeping the lights on in this country, while they are here to receive it.”
BCSSS trustees say equal treatment with the MPS would involve the transfer of the scheme’s £2.3 billion investment reserve directly to members, and a review of how future surpluses are shared — a structure already in place for the MPS.