The company terminated the scheme and then told everyone there was not enough money to cover members’ benefits.
They announced they would reduce benefits for members who had not yet started to receive pension payments.
Robins claimed compensation from the Secretary of State for not providing the proper level of social protection under Directive 80/987 art 8.
The High Court asked the ECJ whether the member state needed to fund a scheme that had run out of money, and whether the UK had properly transposed the Directive.
However, Robins would gain benefits as low as 20% of entitlement, so the UK's scheme under the Pensions Act 2004 section 286 (establishing the Financial Assistance Scheme) did not ‘protect’ workers like Robins within the meaning of art 8, so the provision was improperly implemented.