Almost 40,000 former mineworkers across the UK are receiving their first pension increase this week, with payments landing just days before Christmas.
Members of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) are seeing an average uplift of around £100 a week to their pension income, alongside a one-off lump sum payment of about £5,500. The increase represents a 41% boost and follows the government’s decision to hand over a £2.3 billion investment reserve that had been held by the state since 1994.
The move was confirmed at the Budget and delivers on a long-running campaign by former coalfield workers and their representatives, who argued the reserve should be returned to scheme members. Payments have been backdated to November 2024, when similar changes were introduced for members of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.
The BCSSS covers former coal miners as well as thousands of people who worked in supporting roles at collieries, including engineers, managers, administrators and canteen staff. More than 5,000 women are members of the scheme, accounting for around 13% of the total.
Last year, the government transferred £1.5 billion to members of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, benefiting more than 100,000 people. With this latest payment, ministers say all members of the former British Coal pension schemes have now received a pension uplift.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the payments marked the end of a “decades-long injustice”, paying tribute to mineworkers and campaigners who had fought for change. He said thousands of former workers would now see a significant rise in their retirement income “just before Christmas”, reflecting their contribution to powering the country.
Cheryl Agius, chair of trustees of the BCSSS, described the moment as historic and a turning point for the scheme. She said the government had listened to trustees, members and coalfield MPs, allowing the scheme to bring its members into line with those in the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, who received their reserve last year.
The government is due to meet BCSSS trustees in the New Year to discuss future surplus-sharing arrangements.
Ministers said the pension announcement sits alongside wider plans to regenerate former industrial heartlands through investment in clean energy. The government says more than £62 billion of private investment has been announced since July 2024, with the clean energy sector expected to support over 800,000 jobs by 2030, many of them in communities once built around coal. Photo by Man vyi, Wikimedia commons.