Superannuation Bill
Memorandum from Michael Johnson
(SU 74)
1.
I am a 29
year old PCSPS
member.
I joined the Scheme on 6 July 2009
,
so have been a member for
1
.
2
5 years
,
a
relatively
short time. This limits the personal impact of the proposed changes to the Scheme.
Nevertheless, the inequity of the content of the Superannuation Bill
– and in particular the impact it will have on my colleagues –
compels me to
submit this evidence
for consideration
.
2.
The Coalition Government
has made clear that reducing the deficit
in
the public finances is its primary objective. While this may be the case, ther
e are various methods through which
this objective can be
pursued
. Fundamentally, the deficit in the public finances was caused not by the civil service, but by financial institutions
’
systemic mismanagement of complex financial instruments,
both in the
UK
and abroad. It is inc
omprehensible that
this Coalition Government considers it appropriate for
the consequences of this irresponsibility
to
be borne by those who are clearly not culpable.
3.
As
p
arliamentarians of various Political persuasions outlined in the
debate in the Lower Chamber (7 September 2010), comparing the experience of employees in the public and private sectors is erroneous.
Reform of Civil Service terms and conditions
may
be required, but it is simply unacceptable for alterations to be imposed
retrospectively.
Any alterations should be imposed on those entering the Civil Service from now on. For example, I am required to contribute to my Civil Service Pension in a way that previous entrants were not. I am perfectly comfortable with this, as the terms and conditions of my employment were clear when I took up post.
The following issues that will affect fellow
members of the Scheme are of principal concern:
4.
Employees app
roaching retirement age are seriously disadvantaged by
the content of this
Superannuation Bill
.
The cap in
redundancy payments will
impose
a reduction of up to two thirds of some members’
existing entitlement.
Because the Coalition
Government has
simultaneously
annou
nced the closure of various public agencies
,
people made redundant and approaching retirement
age
face
be
ing
unemployed
and with little hope of finding
alternative employment given their
age
and the current
economic climate, particularly in parts of the country where the rate of public sector employment is currently relatively high
.
5.
Furthermore
, the introduction of this Bill will make those approaching retirement
unable to access their
pension
until they reach
60.
Under the current terms and conditions they
would have effectively been
entitled to draw their
full pension immediately
upon being made redundant
.
6.
Compounding this, many employees
will find that the
pension
they receive
will be substantially
smaller
than
that which
they
have been
contributing to
for
up to 40 years.
People will quite understandably have made significant decisions relatin
g to their career
based on the terms and conditions of their employment – imposing a new set of rules
on them
at this stage is wholly unacceptable.
They risk having
neither the time
n
or the opportunity to make alternative arrangements to cover the substantial
shortfall in
what
the
y will receive
.
A
s a result of the Bill
’
s removal of what are co
nsidered to be accr
ued rights, people will
face severe
financial hardship
as a result of their contract – moral
and/
or legal – being contravened by this Coalition Government.
7.
I urge you to reconsider this Bill and find a
more equitable
way of
reducing
the deficit. This Bill will have a severe impact on those who have
dedicated their lives to public service
, yet will make a relatively small contribution to meeting the country’s financial needs, which have been caused by the greed of
others
.
September 2010
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