On Tue 12 Feb our Chief Executive attended a meeting of the Public Service Pensioners’ Council (PSPC) Executive Committee which included, senior representatives from the National Association of Retired Police Officers, the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance, the National Union of Teachers and Prospect (the union representing engineers, scientists, managers and other specialists).
The recent Court of Appeal ruling that the Government had discriminated against a group of judges and firefighters in relation to changes to their pension and the potential read across to other Public Sector Pension Schemes was discussed at length and a shared understanding of each other’s positions was achieved. In short, the position we have taken on the basis of advice received to date remains valid, ie: to monitor the Government’s response to the ruling and to ensure the unique and essential aspects of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme that provides an income stream for those who leave from age 40 or thereabouts are retained. It is worth reflecting upon the final section of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury’s Statement of 30 Jan:
”Whatever the court outcome, we know the costs of providing public sector pensions are increasing. The 2015 reforms were to ensure public service pensions are affordable and sustainable in the long term, maintaining inter-generational fairness and ensuring the burden on the working population remains proportionate.”
We will keep you posted.
