Some former mineworkers who are receiving a £100-a-week boost to their pensions after a hard-fought battle say they will now no longer need to worry about money.
The Guardian had reported that people were “dying in abject poverty” and unable to “afford to bury themselves” after the government raided billions from their pensions.
But ministers anounced an end to the injustice in the autumn budget of 2024 and former miners and their families are now able to access a fairer share of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.
Members will receive a 41% uplift in their pension packets on Tuesday after the government transferred over its £2.3bn reserve fund.
They will also receive an average lump sum of £5,500 backdated to when the government agreed to end the unjust agreement that allowed it to take half the scheme’s surplus.
The move mainly affects 40,000 people who had non-mining roles at collieries, more than 5,000 of them women. Similar changes were made last year to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, the main fund with 100,000 members.
Their pensions should now be more in line with those of other former public sector workers.
Julie Creed, from Mansfield, who worked in the salaries office of British Coal, said the money was “going to really help” when bills were going up.
She added that it would benefit her mother-in-law in her 80s, whose husband was a mineworker and has since died: “It’s made a massive difference to her and her pension so that means she’s not got to be worrying whether she can afford to put the heating on or whatever, so that has really helped.”
Cheryl Agius, chair of trustees of the pension scheme, said: “This is a historic moment – the result of a year of determination, advocacy and collaboration – and it marks a turning point.”
Steve Yemm, the Labour MP for Mansfield who has campaigned on the issue and whose constituency has the highest proportion of former mineworkers in the UK, said the move would finally provide justice but was not the end of the battle.
He added: “I am acutely aware members of each scheme have not been provided the same clarity or resolution in relation to future sharing arrangements for ongoing scheme surpluses.
“They are understandably anxious for a fair surplus-sharing arrangement to be reached with haste, and they have my full support in doing so. I am working with the respective scheme trustees and have written to ministers accordingly.”
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, paid tribute to “all the mineworkers and all the campaigners involved in ending this decades-long injustice”.
He added: “Today, thousands will rightly see a 41% uplift in their pension payment just before Christmas – providing them with the retirement they deserve.”
