An MP has asked the boss of the Pensions Regulator why it took so long to do anything about issues with three pensions schemes connected to Norton Motorcycles.
The Castle Donington bike builder went into administration at the end of January following a catalogue of problems.
They ranged from bikers paying deposits for bikes that never arrived to a winding up petition from HMRC over £300,000 in unpaid taxes - and the company’s auditors raising questions about how the business was managing its cash flow.
Throughout, the Pensions Ombudsman has been considering complaints from investors who put their savings into three pensions schemes linked to the Leicestershire motorbike business.
Some 228 individuals invested in the schemes which in turn invested their millions into Norton.
The ombudsman has already ruled on instances of individuals suffering long delays in trying to get money out. More cases are being looked at.
And last year the Pensions Regulator appointed an independent trustee to one of the Norton scheme after a client struggled to switch his pension despite ombudsman backing.
Now MP Stephen Timms, who chairs Parliament’s Work and Pensions Committee, has written to the chief executive of the Pensions Regulator, Charles Counsell, with a series of questions about Norton Motorcycles Holdings Ltd and the three schemes invested in it.
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The letter asks about the Pensions Regulator’s role in the case, whether any lessons have been learned from its handling of it and asks how likely it is that people who invested their money in the schemes will ever get it back.
Mr Timms says: “Following the recent administration of Norton Motorcycles Holdings Ltd, there has been increased interest in the three pension schemes set up, as part of a pensions liberation scam, to provide funding for the company.
“The previous trustee, Mr Garner, of the Dominator 2012, Commando 2012, and Donington MC pension schemes was also CEO of Norton Motorcycles Holdings Ltd, and was replaced by an independent trustee in May 2019.“
Mr Timms has asked the regulator to tell him:
- When did the Pensions Regulator become aware of Mr Garner’s conflict of interest in acting as a trustee for the schemes?
- The arrangement began in 2012. Could the Pensions Regulator have acted before May 2019, some seven years later?
- Has the Pensions Regulator learned any lessons from the handling of this particular case?
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- What is the Pensions Regulator doing to protect other savers in schemes set up through pension liberation scams?
- What should the expectations be of scheme members for the return of the funds they invested?
The ombudsman held a new hearing last month into allegations from pension fund members who fear their retirement savings have been wiped out.
An update is expected in May.