Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 21 October 2019 to Question 175 on Armed Forces: Pensions, whether he has plans to review the process by which members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme transferred their pension benefits to non-defined benefit schemes between 2010 and 2015.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no such plans. It is deeply regrettable that some Service personnel incurred a monetary loss when they made the decision to transfer their Armed Forces' pension benefits to non-defined benefit schemes in the period 2010 to 2015. However, this is an issue which is common to all public sector pension schemes, not just the Armed Forces.

The transfer of an individual's pension to another pension scheme was, and remains, the decision and the right of the scheme member. It would have been unacceptable for the Armed Forces' pension schemes to have denied members' wishes or challenged them following the satisfactory completion of the necessary checks. Scheme members have always been encouraged by Veterans UK to seek advice from an independent financial adviser prior to transfer.

I am satisfied that MOD officials applied due diligence throughout the pension transfer process and acted in line with the recommendations of the Pensions Regulator by providing the appropriate guidance, acting only with the written authorisation of individual members.