Vote Bundle Text (940210-02)

Amendments proposed to the Armed Forces (pensions and Compensation) Bill - continued	House of Commons

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Report to Parliament (No. 1)

Mr Desmond Swayne

NC5

To move the following Clause:—

'The Secretary of State shall report to Parliament on the feasibility of establishing a funded pension scheme for members of the Armed Forces within two years of this Act coming into force.'.

Report to Parliament (No. 2)

Mr Desmond Swayne

NC6

To move the following Clause:—

'The Secretary of State shall report to Parliament on the feasibility of a scheme to address the disadvantages of servicemen whose pensions have been adversely affected by previous incomes policies within one year of this Act coming into force.'.

Nominated spouse

Mr Andrew Robathan

NC7

To move the following Clause:—

'Pensions and compensation under this Act may only be paid to a nominated lawfully married spouse.'.

Transition arrangements

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC8

To move the following Clause:—

'The Secretary of State shall by order set out the arrangements to apply to servicemen and women who elect to transfer to a new Armed Forces Pension Scheme.'.

Early departure payments

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC9

To move the following Clause:—

'A system of Early Departure Payments (EDPs) for those serving 18 years and having reached age 40 (whichever is later) will be payable until the preserved pension comes into payment at age 65. The Secretary of State shall by order set out details of these payments.'.

Benefits where the member leaves the service before the age of 55 years

Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Gerald Howarth

NC10

To move the following Clause:—

'For the purposes of any Armed Forces Pension Scheme established under section 1, a member leaving the service before the normal pension age of 55 will on achieving the age of 55 be awarded a pension and any other benefits due with immediate effect to the value of what the member would have been awarded had he left the service at the age of 55.'.

Preserved pension age

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC11

To move the following Clause:—

'Any preserved pension shall be payable at age 60'.

Assumptions

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC12

To move the following Clause:—

'Before introducing any new scheme the Secretary of State shall set out the mortality and longevity assumptions upon which such scheme is based.'.

Comparative benefit statements

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC13

To move the following Clause:—

'The Secretary of State shall provide individual comparative benefit statements for each serviceman and woman eligible to elect whether to remain within the scheme in force on the proposed transfer date or transfer to a new scheme promulgated by the Secretary or State.'.

Medical records

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC14

To move the following Clause:—

'The Secretary of State shall maintain complete and accurate medical records in respect of service personnel and shall not dispose of any such records until that person has died.'.

Access to medical records

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC15

To move the following Clause:—

'It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that any claimant to compensation arising from injury or illness attributable to military service shall have full and complete access to his medical records.'.

Report to parliament

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC16

To move the following Clause:—

'The Secretary of State shall report to Parliament on the operation of any tariff-based compensation schemes not later than five years after the introduction of such a scheme or three years after any amendment to such a scheme.'.

Coming into force

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC17

To move the following Clause:—

'No new scheme shall be introduced under this Bill until April 2007 or until such time as the representative trustees referred to in section [Representative Trustees] shall have approved.'.

Pensions for life

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC18

To move the following Clause:—

'Widows, widowers and registered unmarried partners currently in receipt of any form of forces family pension shall retain that pension for life.'.

Full career pension

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC19

To move the following Clause:—

'A member who serves 35 years but less than 37Ö years because of service limitations imposed by the Secretary of State shall have his benefits increased to 66Û per cent. of final salary by one or more of the following:

—He shall be granted additional years to accrue for pension purposes.

—He shall be granted a beneficial accrual rate in his later years of service.

—He shall be granted an improved lump sum on retirement.'.

Post-retirement marriage

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC20

To move the following Clause:—

'With effect from 6th April 2005 Forces Family Pensions shall be payable to all widows regardless of the date of their marriage.'.

Calculation of final pension

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC21

To move the following Clause:—

'With effect from 6th April 2005 existing beneficiaries in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme shall have their pensionable earnings assessed by considering the last three tax years of their service with years one and two increased by inflation. The highest figure shall be used to calculate the pension.'.

Information to beneficiaries

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC22

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) The Secretary of State shall ensure that information about changes to existing schemes and information about new schemes reaches all levels of all units. All relevant information shall be made available to all serving personnel.

(2) The rules relating to compensation for injuries and illnesses shall be made readily available to all serving personnel.

(3) The Secretary of State shall make provision for service personnel to receive access to independent financial advice when making decisions relating to proposed changes to the scheme.

(4) The Secretary of State shall set out at the beginning of future consultation processes a timetable for the completion of that process.

(5) Future changes to the schemes will be possibly by secondary legislation, but the basic principles of the scheme shall be set out in primary legislation and the introduction of a new scheme shall only be possible through primary legislation. Any major changes to the schemes in the future should be by statutory instrument subject to super-affirmative procedure, allowing for consultation both with interested groups and with Parliament, before final secondary legislation is presented to Parliament for approval.'.

Time limits

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC23

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) No time limit shall apply for the submission of claims for compensation, but after seven years of leaving the Armed Forces a claimant will only succeed if he/she can prove beyond reasonable doubt that the condition or disability for which he/she is claiming is due to service in the Armed Forces.

(2) Prior to the seven years limit it will be for the Secretary of State for Defence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the condition or disability is not due to service in the Armed Forces.'.

Aftercare

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC24

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) A member of the Armed Forces may be awarded, in respect of any period during which he receives treatment, a treatment allowance consisting of—

(a)	a personal allowance at the rate of retired pay or pension which would be payable if the degree of his disablement were 100 per cent., increased, where appropriate,

(b)	an additional allowance for a dependant.

(2) Such allowance shall be subject to such deductions or adjustments as the Secretary of State may think appropriate having regard to all the circumstances of the case.'.

Medical expenses

Mr Gerald Howarth
Hugh Robertson

NC25

To move the following Clause:—

'Any necessary expenses in respect of the medical, surgical or rehabilitative treatment of a member of the Armed Forces and of appropriate aids and adaptations for disabled living may, in so far as not provided under legislation of the United Kingdom, be defrayed by the Secretary of State for Defence under such conditions and up to such amounts as he may determine.'.

Early departure payments (No. 2)

Mr Julian Brazier
Mr Gerald Howarth

NC26

*To move the following Clause:—

'Any Early Departure Payments (EDPs) established under section 1 of this Act as part of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme shall include the following provisions—

(a)	there will be a qualifying period of service for the EDP, common for Officers and Other Ranks.

(b)	the EDPs will be payable from age 40, but only on completion of 18 years of service (the 40/18 point);

(c)	it will be paid to those leaving from that point and, as now, personnel will be eligible whether they leave for Service or personal reasons;

(d)	from the 40/18 point, there will be immediate entitlement to a tax-free lump sum equivalent to three times the individual's accrued annual preserved pension value;

(e)

in addition, at the 40/18 point, there will be an entitlement to an annual payment of 50% of the individual's accrued preserved pension entitlement. This payment will remain at the same level for those leaving at that point and, between the ages of 40 and 55, will not attract index-linking for inflation;

(f)

for each year by which the individual's retirement is deferred after completing the 18 years of qualifying service, the value of the annual payments will increase by 1.66% up to age 55, at which age the annual payment will be 100% of the preserved pension entitlement. Until age 55, this payment will remain unchanged and will not attract index-linking for inflation;

(g)	from age 55, the payments will be adjusted to take account of the changes in the Retail Price Index (RPI) since the point at which the EDP was originally taken and thereafter on an annual basis until the preserved pension comes into payment at age 60.

(h)	existing policy on abatement will apply to Early Departure Payments if a recipient is subsequently reemployed in the public services.

(i)	a preserved pension will be paid from age 60 onwards, with its value adjusted fully in line with RPI from the last day of service. At this point, a pension lump sum of three times the individual's preserved pension entitlement will also be paid.'.