They've borrowed from pension funds and never been able to pay back the money owed. people have paid in and will get nothing back.
I can remember when Personal and Business Pension Plans came out. I decided that the best way to find out about them was to go for a job interview selling them. They opened my eyes to all the mis selling and fiddles going on to rob people of their savings.
As we would all be self employed getting individuals to sign up was bread and butter work. The big money was in small business plans. We were told to say, not in writing, of course, 'tell them it covers everything they ask about.' I said, 'what if?' Answer: 'By that time you could be dead or left the firm or whatever and anyway the provider picks up the tab as you are acting as their agent.' I would get a commission for the set up, plus one for every employee who joined up. this all came out via the huge Pension Selling enquiries and things were apparently tightened up.
So a Boss and ten workers was a great pay day. The firm matched each employee's payment. It was tax deductible for the firm. However the owners of the firm were the trustees of the Plan and could vote to lend money out at zero/low interest. Plans were looted and left with no pot to grow. The Plan only gained interest on the actual money and not on the total amount paid in. Morally, the loan should be paid back with enough interest to cover the interest which would have accrued, had the money remained in there. It rarely ever happens.
Employers were allowed to take payment holidays with the view that they would make it up later. They rarely bothered. If an employee fell behind, they just got bumped and their payments were frozen until they retired.
The Plan could be used as collateral for business loans and become forfeit should the borrower default. Basically, the employees were paying to work there!!!! I doubt if things have changed much since then. Needless to say I didn't work in the dirty business nor did I take up a Pension.
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