increasing their pension payments in line with inflation<\/a>.<\/p>\nNew FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n
A law passed in the 1990s by John Major\u2019s Conservative government \u2013 aimed at requiring companies to raise pensions with inflation \u2013 left out defined benefit (DB) pension money accrued before 1997.<\/p>\n
Most UK companies do increase payments regardless of the law. However, a small group of multinationals have used the \u201cflaw\u201d in the legislation to avoid annual rises in pre-1997 DB pensions, campaigners say.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do feel cheated,\u201d says Foley of her DB pension with Hewlett Packard Enterprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was going to be a gold-plated pension and my retirement would be comfortable. I had no idea it would be frozen,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many of us are desperate for increases to meet the cost of living.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s a struggle to get by every month\u2019<\/p>\n
Foley worked for a company called Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for 22 years up to 1999. Hewlett Packard Enterprise later took over the UK firm and inherited its pension scheme.<\/p>\n
After several years working for the NHS, Foley retired a few years ago. She now has an income of around \u00a31,600 a month.<\/p>\n
She receives \u00a3880 a month from her state pension, \u00a3399 a month from the Hewlett Packard pension, and \u00a3320 from the NHS pension.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a struggle to get by every month,\u201d said the pensioner. \u201cI have to shop frugally at the supermarket. I can\u2019t give much to my grandchildren in presents at Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that after paying all her regular bills, she is usually left with a little over \u00a3100 a month and that any unexpected bills can push her into financial trouble.<\/p>\n
![\"Jane](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_270121785.jpg\")
Jane Foley has seen her private pension become worth less and less in recent years (Photo: Provided)<\/p>\n
Foley estimates that her Hewlett Packard Enterprise pension would be worth around \u00a3800 a month \u2013 double its current amount \u2013 if it had increased with inflation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost of living means the value of the Hewlett-Packard pension feels less and less over time,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to worry about money at my age.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel angry and so sad about it. It seems unfair and unethical that they found a way not to increase it. It\u2019s putting profits above pensioners.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the Government realises it\u2019s not fair to treat pensions from pre-1997 differently and fixes this in legislation,\u201d Foley added. \u201cIt should resolve this injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Some people have had to sell their homes\u2019<\/p>\n
Foley and others in the Hewlett Packard Pension Association (HPPA) campaign group are aware of 10 other companies \u2013 including drug giant Pfizer \u2013 who also avoid increasing their pre-1997 pensions.<\/p>\n
Campaigners estimate that just over 50,000 people who have pensions with these companies are affected by the issue, including around 5,500 people with a Hewlett Packard Enterprise pension.<\/p>\n
Patricia Kennedy, co-chair of the campaign group, said Hewlett Packard Enterprise had increased the pension only three times \u2013 by 1 per cent in 2004 and 2008, and by 3 per cent in 2022 \u2013 in the past two decades.<\/p>\n
The 74-year-old from Ayrshire, also a former DEC employee, said: \u201cIt\u2019s legal, but I would argue it\u2019s not ethical. It\u2019s heartless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy added: \u201cThe value of the pension is decreasing over time. People are starting to struggle financially more than they thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some cases, people are struggling to pay bills. Some people have had to sell homes and downsize, or they can\u2019t find the money to care for loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kennedy urged Labour ministers to \u201cfix this\u201d, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s not fair to draw this arbitrary line in 1997, leaving thousands of people on the wrong side of that line.\u201d<\/p>\n
The campaign group has won support among MPs. Several are now pushing for the Labour Government to amend its own Pension Schemes Bill so pre-1997 pensions rise in line with inflation.<\/p>\n
MPs draw up amendment to \u2018put it right\u2019<\/p>\n
Senior Conservative Sir Roger Gale told The i Paper that he was working with a cross-party group of MPs to amend the bill making its way through parliament.<\/p>\n
The Tory MP said it was \u201cshameful\u201d for companies to have effectively frozen payments. He claimed ministers could easily change the law.<\/p>\n
Sir Roger stated: \u201cThere is a flaw in the legislation. It is wrong that a loophole in the law should be exploited to the detriment of elderly pensioners. It doesn\u2019t need to be complicated at all. This is a wrong, put it right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Labour MP Clive Jones said the current pensions bill was a \u201cvital opportunity\u201d to make sure affected pensioners get the \u201ccomfortable retirement that they deserve\u201d. <\/p>\n
A Hewlett Packard Enterprise spokesperson said the company was \u201ccommitted to satisfying all of its responsibilities\u201d.<\/p>\n
They added: \u201cThe decision on whether to grant discretionary increases to relevant pensioners is given careful consideration and is made based on a number of factors. It is reviewed on an annual basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pfizer declined to comment. The Government declined to say whether it would consider the amendment being worked on by Sir Roger and other MPs.<\/p>\n
A DWP spokesperson said the Pension Scheme Bill would give \u201cgreater flexibility\u201d to trustees running Defined Benefit schemes \u201cto share surplus [funds]\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jane Foley is among thousands of people whose private pensions have fallen behind the cost of living due…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3093],"tags":[939,51,13626,1267,474,3126,617,2499,2250,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-509085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-cost-of-living-crisis","11":"tag-dwp","12":"tag-finance","13":"tag-pensioners","14":"tag-pensions","15":"tag-personal-finance","16":"tag-retirement","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115394469620121160","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}