Written question asked by Lord Myners (Crossbench) on Tuesday, 26 April 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 11 May 2016. It was answered by Baroness Altmann (Conservative) on Monday, 9 May 2016 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

British Home Stores: Pensions

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish an estimate of the likely impact of the additional levy that will be imposed on well managed and solvent pension schemes in relation to the BHS pension schemes.

Answer: Parliament gave the Pensions Protection Fund independence in how it operates. The PPF sets the pension protection levy at the level it considers necessary to meet its long term funding strategy rather than in direct response to recent claims. Factors relevant to the level of the levy include: the PPF’s existing funding position (£3.6bn in reserves at March 2015); the potential level of future claims; the potential level of assets that may be received from transferred schemes; and expected future investment returns.

Secondary information