Election 2024 – Scottish National Party (SNP) manifesto and pensions

The penultimate manifesto review in this series is the SNP’s ‘A Future Made In Scotland‘.

The SNP, along with Plaid Cymru, have the luxury of being able to set out manifesto promises without aiming to be the majority party for the whole of the United Kingdom. Their policies are important, however – they could be a coalition partner in a future government and they are governing party in Scotland. In addition, all of the policies made by all of the parties add ideas into the pensions policy mix.

The SNP very much focus on the gives – full compensation for Equitable Life policy holders and women affected by the equalisation and increase in state pension age for women, creating a ‘wellbeing pension’ that could be more generous than the triple lock (which is also guaranteed). What is missing is clarity on how all of this will be funded. In addition, there are no policy proposals on some major pensions areas such as climate change risk and opportunity investments, defined contribution pensions and the Economic Growth Agenda / pension investment.

Policy area	Manifesto text	Comment	Page
Equitable Life	Provide full restitution for the victims of the Equitable Life scandal.	The Equitable Life Payment Scheme was closed to new claims on 31 December 2015. The estimated total loss for Equitable Life policy holders was £4.1 billion. The government compensation scheme was £1.5 billion. The SNP presumably want to reopen the Equitable Life Payment Scheme and provide full compensation.	24
Pension Credit	Reverse the cut to Pension Credit and maximise take-up by introducing a comprehensive benefit take-up strategy for all benefits.	This emulates a policy that the SNP have implemented in Scotland by encouraging the take-up of benefits.	24
State Pension – triple lock	Protect pensions by maintaining the triple lock and move to deliver a wellbeing pension.	This retains the status quo on the annual increasing of the State Pension. The concept of a wellbeing pension is, however, new and relates to the SNP’s pledge to ensure that everyone has enough for the basic necessities of life.	5
State Pension – state pension age	[The SNP] will oppose any further increases in the state pension age.	The SNP state that they will oppose any acceleration of planned changes to the state pension age or any further increases to the state pension age. This means that they would not reverse the future increases that are already set out in legislation.	5 and 24
Gig economy workers and automatic enrolment	Amend the definition of worker to strengthen protections for those with unfair contracts by creating a single status of ‘worker’ for all but the genuinely self-employed.	Case law has already established that many working in the gig economy are workers for the purposes of rights under the Pensions Act 2008 (automatic enrolment). We would expect the SNP’s new ‘worker’ status to also be covered by automatic enrolment.	23
WASPI women	Stand up for WASPI women by making sure the UK Government delivers full, fast and fair compensation for women who have been wronged by pension inequality.	The current status of compensation for women adversely affected by state pension age increases is that the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman issued a report in March 2024. This report contained a request for Parliament to identify how to provide an appropriate remedy for those who have suffered injustice due to maladministration on the part of DWP. The government has yet to confirm what it will do.	5 and 24
Pensions taxation – War Disablement Pensions	Support our veterans by following the approach of the SNP Scottish Government and ensure that the War Disablement Pension is exempt from the assessment of income for veterans who require social care services.	This does not go as far as the Conservatives or Plaid Cymru, who both promise broader exemptions for all War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.	28