Dear Colleague,
You will be aware of the government’s announcement today with regard to public sector pensions. I understand the Treasury Chief Secretary’s commitment, which has been widely reported, is as follows:
“I believe it is right that we protect those public service workers who, as of 1 April 2012, have ten years or less to their pension age. It is my objective that these people see no change in when they can retire, nor any decrease in the amount of pension they receive at their current Normal Pension Age. Scheme specific discussions will need to determine the fairest way of achieving this objective, taking full account of equalities impacts and legislation, while ensuring that costs to the taxpayer in each and every year do not exceed the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts of public service pension costs.”
These proposals are conditional on agreement being reached in relation to individual schemes and no mention has been made of the impact of this on the police pension scheme.
I understand there is an inevitable read-across and people will want to understand what this means for police officers. However, this is an important new point, which I have been informed will be reflected in future discussions on police pensions at the Police Negotiating Board.
I hope this clarifies the current position and I will keep you informed of any developments.
Regards
Ian Rennie
General Secretary
Police Federation of E&W
Federation House
Highbury Drive
Leatherhead
Surrey KT22 7UY
01372 352022
