The pensions industry should respond quickly to a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consultation that could safeguard the pensions of hundreds of individuals in the UK, Pitmans Trustees Limited (PTL) has urged.

PTL said if approved, the new draft regulations – the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) (entry rules)(amendment) regulations 2014 – would widen the scope of eligibility for pension schemes seeking to enter the PPF to include pension schemes sponsored by a non-UK EU company.

The firm said that there was a "real danger" that the opportunity to safeguard the pensions of hundreds of individuals will slip by if the industry does not act now.

Richard Butcher, PTL managing director, said: "It is absolutely essential that the amendments to the scope of PPF eligibility, which are proposed in the current consultation, are made."

PTL is the trustee for the Olympic Airlines Pension Scheme, and Butcher said that one immediate result of the change would be to secure the benefits of 110 members of the scheme, who were denied access to the PPF following a Court of Appeal last year.

He said that although the decision to disallow the scheme was possibly correct in law, it was "wholly unfair" as there was an "implied contract" since the scheme had paid all of its PPF levies.

PTL said that members of similar schemes, whose sponsor is based outside of the UK, would also be protected by the changes in the future, if their schemes were to run into trouble.

Butcher said: "This is a busy time for the industry, amidst the ongoing changes that were thrown up by this year's Budget, but we would strongly urge as many people as possible to respond to the consultation and help push though these essential changes to pensions law."

The PPF consultation closes to responses on 10 June.

First published 03.06.2014

monique_simpson@wilmington.co.uk