4 April 2025
The Government is currently reviewing how the MPS surplus should be shared, with the Trustees pushing for all benefits to go to Scheme members. This includes protecting the bonus pensions awarded in 2024 so they cannot be reduced in the future.
The Trustees have proposed to the Department for Energy and Net Zero (DESNZ) that:
- 100% of any future surpluses should go to members as bonus pensions, provided the Scheme is not in deficit
- around £1 billion earmarked for return to the Government from earlier surpluses should be kept in the Scheme to provide extra bonus pensions to members, and
- bonus pensions paid to members in 2024 must be protected from any future reductions if the Scheme has a deficit.
The Trustees met with DESNZ representatives in December and January to discuss these proposals. We’ve emphasised how vital it is that the 2024 bonus pensions are protected from future reductions, stressing that members earned these pensions and they should not be taken away.
The Government Actuary’s Department is analysing these proposals to understand their implications for members and the Government. This work will be completed soon.
Following this analysis, the Trustees will meet again with DESNZ representatives and Sarah Jones MP, the Minister for Industry, who is responsible for the Scheme.
If you support the Trustees' proposal and want your 2024 bonus pension protected by the Government's guarantee, you may wish to write to the Minister, copying in your local MP.
We will share the outcome of this review as soon as we can. Any updates will be posted on the news page of this website.