“This Armed Forces Day, as well as showing our support, it is also appropriate to look to the future”, says our Chief Executive
As the saying goes, “we live in interesting times.” With so much global conflict and so many competing interests to resolve, it will be the Armed Forces who will be called upon to deter opponents from aggression, and, at times, impose the will of governments. Such is the duty of the military.
Emerging technologies will place ever greater emphasis on attracting and retaining high quality people, in roles including engineering, electronics, IT, cyber security and communications across all domains. And since serving in the Armed Forces is essentially a young persons’ endeavour, the Services need to recruit and retain talented people seeking exciting, purposeful and rewarding careers.
It is also essential that after their service, the Government recognises its duty to help secure the future of those who serve as they transition to civilian life, appreciating that this often requires stressful adjustment. Right now, this country provides one of the best public service pension schemes for the Armed Forces and it must keep pace with the needs of future generations of service people.
Governments of whichever persuasion must accept that people sit at the very heart of military capability and part of their overall remuneration package is a pension scheme that encourages service, provides a financial platform for a second career and ultimately a dignified retirement. With this in mind, we await the implementation of the significant Haythornthwaite recommendations by the Government of the day after the general election is concluded.
At the Forces Pension Society, we define the primary aim of the pension schemes as being to sustain the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces.
As an independent, non-political membership organisation, we firmly believe that we best serve our current and future Members’ long-term interests by being able to interact with the Government of the day, advocating our five pillars pension model articulating the purpose of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, and its contribution to career structures and operational effectiveness.”
