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A pension scheme scrapped in 2002 is STILL costing taxpayers £11.8bn a year, DWP figures reveal

The DWP's entrance. Around 6.6 million people still receive payments averaging £34 a week from a pension scheme scrapped in 2002, costing taxpayers £11.8bn annually.
The DWP's entrance. Around 6.6 million people still receive payments averaging £34 a week from a pension scheme scrapped in 2002, costing taxpayers £11.8bn annually.

Payments from the discontinued scheme currently go to around 6.6 million recipients, who receive an average of £34 a week. A minister has separately promised fresh proposals on private pensions by spring, underlining the scale of long-term pension reform challenges facing the government.

Serps was introduced in 1978 and scrapped in 2002, replaced by a scheme that was itself abolished in 2016 — yet the bills run on.

Experts warn that ministers can rewrite the rules for today's workers but cannot erase rights already built up, meaning obligations endure for decades.

The figures expose how slowly pension overhauls filter through the system — and how today's promises will still be landing on future taxpayers' bills long after politicians have moved on.

MoreFinancial TimesMinister promises UK private pension proposals by springiNewsState pension scheme scrapped in 2002 still costing taxpayers billions
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