In June the Government published its long-awaited Strategic Defence Review (SDR): “Making Britain Safer: secure at home and strong abroad”. To quote directly from the Prime Minister’s foreword: “….our response [to the increased threat] cannot be confined to increasing defence spending. We also need to see the biggest shift in mindset in my lifetime: to put security and defence front and centre – to make it the fundamental organising principle of government.”
The Review contained 62 recommendations and can be read in full here.
There were no recommendations that related directly to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS). However, Recommendation 14 (page 70) states:
“In the current strategic and fiscal situation:
There should be no further reduction in the number of Regulars across the three Services
The number of Active Reserves should be increased by 20% when funding allows.”
The AFPS has a role to play in sustaining operationally effective Armed Forces and supporting retention. Our Sep 24 submission to the SDR team spelled this out and there is no suggestion the Review team disagreed. The Review further stated its recommendations are aligned with the goals of the 2023 Haythornthwaite Review into Armed Forces incentivisation which remains the basis for the MoD’s longer term work in the people (and pension) arena.
We will continue to engage with the MoD as they develop this work with our guiding principles / Pillars of the AFPS uppermost in our minds. We’ll keep you posted.
If you would like to read a summary of the SDR you can do so here.
Neil Marshall
CEO Forces Pension Society
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