Dear [MP Name]

I am writing to you in support of the estimated one million victims of the Equitable Life scandal, around 2,000 of whom will be living in your constituency. They lost hard-earned pension savings because of a decade of maladministration by government departments and their regulators.

Despite the Parliamentary Ombudsman saying they should be put back into the position they would have been in had the maladministration not occurred – and despite the government accepting responsibility for the failures and how much the individuals affected have lost – the vast majority have received only 22.4% of what they are owed. Around 10,000 of the most elderly were also unfairly excluded from compensation, simply because of when they bought their annuity, even though they have suffered similar losses because of the maladministration. Shockingly, around £180m of the limited compensation that has been allocated is set to be kept in the Treasury’s pockets, against the intentions of Parliament.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has said: “We must restore the sense that this is a country that can rectify injustice, particularly when carried out by institutes of the state.” I agree. I strongly believe that where the state accepts responsibility for a mistake, it should provide full and timely redress. I imagine and hope you do too.

The Government is doing the right thing by fully compensating victims of the infected blood and post office scandals, where it has also accepted responsibility for failures. The same principle should apply to victims of the Equitable Life scandal who desperately need their heard-earned pension savings in their remaining years.

Will you please help them by writing to the Prime Minister and Chancellor and by raising this issue in the House?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your sincerely,

[FirstName] [LastName]
[Postcode]
[Email Address]