The current regulatory regime is “vulnerable” to companies seeking to “shed pension promises”, according to Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field.

His comments are in response to a letter sent to the Committee by The Pensions Regulator chief executive Lesley Titcomb following his letter to TPR after the sale of Bernard Matthews.

Rutland Partners sold turkey producer Bernard Matthews to Ranjit Singh Boporan in a sale known as a pre-pack administration deal, which involves a buyer taking on a company's assets, but without liabilities such as its pension deficit. As a result the Bernard Matthews DB scheme has entered into the Pension Protection Fund assessment period.

Titcomb said TPR was first notified of the potential for a pre-pack administration of Bernard Matthews Ltd by the PPF on 1 September 2016 as the PPF had been notified of the possibility by the scheme trustees. Subsequently, TPR began engaging with the trustees.

Titcomb said that the regulator considered the circumstances of the transaction in order to identify any risks to the Bernard Matthews Pension Fund and determine whether it would be appropriate to open an investigation or seek to use our powers to protect members’ best interests.

“This included discussions with the PPF to understand the substance of their discussions with the trustees ahead of the pre-pack and further discussions with the Joint Administrators, Deloitte, after it. We have also reviewed the financial information provided by Deloitte.

“Following the company’s insolvency, we opened a case and continue to engage with the trustees and the PPF so that we can consider whether the use of any of our powers may be appropriate in the circumstances. This is ongoing,” she wrote.

Commenting on the letter, Work and Pensions Committee chair Frank Field said: "The Pensions Regulator is right in using its powers to see if the dumping of the Bernard Matthews Pension Fund in to the Pension Protection Fund is a new way of ripping off pensioners.

“Whatever the specifics of this case, however, it is apparent that the current regulatory regime is vulnerable to companies seeking to shed pension promises at the expense of pensioners. The Select Committee will quickly make proposals to the government on how to prevent this happening."

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