13 August 2026
Blair McDougall has been appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, replacing Chris McDonald as the government minister responsible for the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.
The Trustees welcome Blair McDougall’s appointment and look forward to continuing discussions with him on their proposals submitted in December last year.
As a reminder, as part of the government’s commitment to review what they described as the Scheme’s “unfair surplus sharing arrangements”, the Trustees submitted proposals to the government asking them to:
- change the MPS rules so the bonus pensions awarded to members in 2024 and in future are protected, and cannot be taken away
- award members a new bonus pension in 2026, using the £1 billion of undistributed surplus currently locked up in the Scheme
- allow 100% of any future surpluses to be used to increase members’ pensions.
The Trustees also asked for a commitment to consider index-linking all bonus pensions as part of discussions around the 2026 valuation.
The Trustees would like to thank Chris McDonald for his constructive contribution and support in the ongoing surplus share discussions.