'I put all my eggs in one basket'

Public relations consultant Paul Weir, who invested over £200,000 in Equitable Life from 1989, will now have to work for at least a decade longer than he had hoped owing to the crisis.

He moved his company pension and two smaller pensions from past jobs to Equitable Life. "They seemed very reliable. I now know this was all a sham and they were having problems," he said.

"I put all my eggs in one basket." The father of four fears he has lost over £40,

000. He said: "I had hoped that I would be able to retire at 60, but I now believe I will have to work well into my seventies to make sure I have the security I am looking for."

Mr Weir helped set up Equitable Life Late Joiners Action Group. "I felt frustrated - I wasn't getting anywhere with my own complaints," he said.