Written question asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Myners (Labour) on Thursday, 5 March 2009.

Banking: Fred Goodwin

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they allowed the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Sir Fred Goodwin, to receive a pension at the age of 50 when the normal retirement age for men is 65.

Answer: The Government were not involved in negotiating and did not give approval to or sign-off Sir Fred Goodwin's pension or the basis of his departure from the company. These matters were determined by members of the board of the Royal Bank of Scotland. In response to questions raised in debate by Lord Smith of Clifton and Lord Howard of Rising on 2 March (Official Report, col. 583) I confirmed that no sum relating to Sir Fred Goodwin's pension was mentioned to me on 11 October 2008 and believed I was made aware of a sum a few days later. I can now confirm that I was informed of an estimate of the capitalised value of the pension late on 12 October 2008. What I did not know—and only recently became aware of—was that the approval of the proposed pension arrangements by the Remuneration Committee of RBS was based on a decision to treat Sir Fred Goodwin as having retired early at the request of the company, and that this involved an element of discretion which had the effect of significantly increasing his pension. Investigation as to who at RBS was involved in this decision are continuing.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 1832; 708 c172-3WA
Session: 2008-09
Related items: Financial Services Authority
Monday, 2 March 2009
Proceeding contributions
House of Lords
Subjects: Early retirement Workplace pensions Pension rights Royal Bank of Scotland Goodwin, Fred
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk