The chairman of mutual life assurer Equitable Life has said that the society remains solvent and there are no plans to "wind up" its with-profits fund.

Charles Thomson's comments came at the National Association of Pension Funds annual conference in Brighton as he was quizzed about the future of Equitable Life.

"We cannot put it into administration, it isn't insolvent. The fund is solvent. There aren't really any alternatives that make sense for policyholders," he said.

Mr Thomson added that if the pension provider became insolvent, policyholders would have to wait a long time before getting anything and the costs of such a move would be "gigantic".

The recent problems which have dogged Equitable have also had a negative effect on the industry, claimed one delegate at the conference.

"The consequences of Equitable raises some very serious questions about the faith individuals have in pensions and savings generally," said Mark Stewart of Watson Wyatt Partners.

"If one result of this is that that is undermined, that will be very serious indeed. I think in the short term that undoubtedly has had some consequences for individuals' trust of insurers, savings generally, and pensions."

On Saturday 11 May 2002 Money Box looked at the issue.

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