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NEWS • VIEWS • INFORMATION • ADVICE


PENSION CAMPAIGN CONTINUES


Nine months of pension misery

Since coming to power in May 2010 the Coalition Government has launched an assault on public sector pensions that has seen:

a dramatic drop in the value of public sector pensions as a result of the decision to tie pension index-linking from the RPI to the CPI. This move will substantially damage the level of future pension increases and the NASUWT has calculated that the average teacher stands to lose £50,000 on a pension of £10,000 over 25 years;
plans to increase employee contribution rates by up to 50%;
a constant campaign of misinformation designed to bolster public support for changes to public sector pensions. Pensions have been falsely described as ‘gold-plated’ and ‘unaffordable’ when in fact the average public sector worker’s pension is around £5,000. For every pound of taxpayers money spent on public sector pensions, £2.50 is paid out of the public purse to make up for inadequate pension provision by private sector employers;
the creation of an ‘independent’ review of public sector pensions, chaired by Lord Hutton, which is set to recommend wholesale changes to pension schemes, just five years after schemes were reviewed to secure their viability, affordability and sustainability.


The NASUWT is continuing to fight plans to make huge increases in the contribution teachers have to make to their pensions

The NASUWT has condemned plans by the Coalition Government to increase the contribution teachers across the UK have to make to their pensions by nearly 50% (£100 per month for some) and is mounting a robust attack on the proposals.

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a consultation on plans to increase employee contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) from the current rate of 6.4% to up to 9.8% by 2014/15.

The Coalition Government is seeking to increase employee contributions across public sector pension schemes in a bid to make £2.8 billion of savings. The NASUWT completely rejects any increase in employee contributions as a further attack on hard-working public servants, who are being targeted by a Government intent on destroying the services on which ordinary families depend.

The plans, if approved, will see pension contributions increase by more than £60 per month for teachers at the top of the main scale and £100 per month for teachers on UPS3. The increases will be even greater for those on the leadership pay spine.

Such a rise, coming at a time when teachers are already facing a huge financial squeeze, is completely unacceptable, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said.

“This planned increase is in addition to the pay cut teachers are already suffering as a result of the public sector pay freeze, the rise in VAT and high inflation.

“The profession will be deeply aggrieved about the Coalition Government continuing to wage war on their pensions when changes had already been agreed with the previous Government, which, according to the Treasury itself, made the scheme affordable and viable in the longer term.

“This is a further assault on teachers’ pensions following the Coalition’s imposed change in index-linking of public sector pensions to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) instead of the Retail Prices Index (RPI), a change that reneged on the pre and post-election promises to protect accrued pension rights.

“This move by the Coalition Government is yet another blow to hard-working, dedicated teachers up and down the country, who are already reeling from the Coalition Government’s relentless campaign of savage cuts and reform.”

The NASUWT has calculated that on the modest teachers’ pension, which averages around £10,000 per annum, an individual stands to lose £50,000 of their pension over 20 years.

The Union has written to the DfE strongly opposing the changes and is working through the Teachers’ Panel of the TPS to fight any increase in contributions. The NASUWT is also working through the TUC to co-ordinate work across the trade union movement to fight this grave attack on public service pensions.