The trustees of the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme are continuing to lobby ministers to convince them to give up all of the two schemes’ surpluses for member top-ups. Labour had promised to "review the unfair surplus arrangements" in the MPS in its 2024 election manifesto.

Both the MPS and the BCSSS trustees met with industry minister Chris McDonald on 30 April and 13 May, respectively,* to discuss future surplus sharing, having received – and distributed to members – £1.5bn and £2.3bn investment reserves, respectively. Paying the investment reserve to the MPS had been a manifesto commitment by Labour; the BCSSS was not mentioned in the manifesto. 

“The meeting was constructive, and the trustees and the minister have agreed to work together on the detail of the proposals over the coming months,” said the BCSSS trustees, noting that no agreement has been reached yet. “But the minister and his team have committed to making as much time as needed to allow detailed discussions to take place,” they assured members.  

The MPS trustees said that “there is significant work to do over the next few months before an acceptable and fair agreement can hopefully be reached”.  

The BCSSS trustees want the scheme rules to be updated so that valuations show the surplus or deficit in the scheme and where the scheme has a surplus, give trustees discretion to pay all of this to members. 

In addition, they are requesting that the scheme rules permit for any surplus to be distributed when it arises, rather than waiting for the next three-yearly valuation. This would mean that any investment upside would exclusively benefit members, while taxpayers continue to carry the scheme’s downside investment risk.  

Similarly, the MPS trustees want to allow 100% of any future surpluses to be used to increase members’ pensions. They are also seeking to access £1bn earmarked to be paid to the government from earlier surpluses, as they would like to use it for a new top-up to members in 2026. The MPS trustees also hope to ensure any bonus are protected from having to be returned; members of the BCSSS recently received fully protected bonus pensions, they noted. 

The two schemes – the MPS in particular – run investment strategies containing more risk than other closed defined benefit schemes. In 2024, the MPS had the largest chunk of its assets in listed equities, followed by private equity, property, high yield credit and special situations debt. It also held more private debt than government bonds.
 

As well as seeking surplus access, the MPS trustees are now also asking for a commitment from the government to consider index-linking all bonus pensions as part of discussions around the 2026 valuation. 
 

   

*This article has been updated with the correct date of the MPS trustees' meeting