Protesters delivered a petition to Downing Street

The protesters delivered a petition to No 10 on Sunday, calling for compensation from the government.

Their future retirement income was cut completely or to a fraction of what they expected, because their pension scheme was wound up.

The march was organised by workers from Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) in Sheerness, Kent, which went into receivership in July.

Under current laws, when a company folds, existing pensions are protected.

We will have to sell up and move to a cheaper area John Hayter Pensions protester

But those who are approaching retirement have to wait behind other creditors and their pensions can be reduced or wiped out.

John Hayter, 59, a former worker at ASW Sheerness, has lost 90% of his pension three years before retirement.

He said: "We will have to sell up and move to a cheaper area, away from our family, friends and grandchildren.

"We are being forced to do it to raise capital which we will have to survive on somehow, despite having saved in the (company pension scheme) for 28 years."

The BBC's Virginia Eastman said pension experts believe this could be the next pensions crisis.

Reforms

Former social security minister Frank Field accompanied the workers as they delivered the petition, and addressed the demonstrators.

He is putting forward a new bill on pension scheme wind-ups and wants to see a fairer distribution of scheme assets between the retired and those approaching pension age.

Another suggested reform is making firms insure their pension funds to protect workers in case of bankruptcy.

Mr Field told the workers his bill would propose the use of unclaimed assets from banks and building societies to compensate those who have lost out.

"On Friday week Parliament will have the chance to discuss the bill that affects everybody who has put money aside for their retirement.

"The government is beginning to wake up to the crisis," he said.

Plea for action

"My plea... is that we do not wait to hear that the government will conduct more consultations. There must be action."

Referring to his proposal of an insurance scheme, he said it must have "the power of the Treasury" to keep it from "going belly up".

Shadow pensions minister Oliver Heald also spoke at the protest, saying workers around the country had "suffered unfairly and would continue to do so if they were not protected."

"We need urgent action and that's why we are supporting Frank Field's bill as a good agenda for change," he added.