Cymru/Wales NHS No Major Reviews Ambulance Service only Joined in 1970’s Part review in 1980’s No ‘Special Class’ status for Ambulance Staff HISTORY Pension

Cymru/Wales

NHS•No Major Reviews•Ambulance Service only Joined in 1970’s•Part review in 1980’s•No ‘Special Class’ status for Ambulance Staff

HISTORY Pension Scheme - SERPS vs NHS

SERPS•1948 - 5 pay in 1 takes out•2004 - 3 pay in 1 takes out•It’s clear that this cannot continue•Resulted in 6 reviews of the pension Scheme•One on Average, every 10 years

Cymru/Wales

The Realism for Ambulance Staff

• Only 1:100 Ambulance Staff reach 65

• Average Length of EMS Service is 17-23 yrs

• The Mean Retirement age is 53/54 yrs

• Nearly ALL Staff Retire on Ill Health

• The average life span Post Retirement is 5 yrs

• Every year we bury colleagues, with little retirement time, or even during their service.

Cymru/Wales

The Review was a joint process including the NHS Trade Unions and NHS employers.

In some areas these are proposals agreed by the partners as the best way forward. In others, more than one possible option is set out.

In particular UNISON cannot support extending the Normal Pension age from 60 to 65. In addition the final salary scheme is valued by our members and we are not convinced of the case for the proposal for a

Career Average Scheme.

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Cymru/Wales

Current NHS Pension Scheme

• Existing members.

Proposed new NHS Pension Scheme

• New entrants from 2006 and existing members by choice.

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Cymru/Wales


• 5% manual, 6% others.


• Possibly 6% for all.

Your views are sought on three options proposed in consultation document under “Employee Contribution Rate” (page 10).

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Cymru/Wales


• Nurses, midwives, health visitors and mental health officers in post prior to 1995.


• No special retirement rights.

Views sought in consultation document (page 13) on the recommendation that protection for special class groups to be maintained.

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Cymru/Wales


• 60 or 55


• 65

Workers who choose to retire at 60 instead of 65 will see the amount of their annual pension decreased by as much as 30%.

UNISON opposes the increase as:-

• The proposed changes are a cut to terms and conditions.

• Workers will have to work an extra five years in order to receive an unreduced pension.

• More pensioners will be forced to depend on means-tested benefits.

• It will be harder to persuade workers to join the public sector schemes.

• Will hinder public service modernisation.

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Cymru/Wales


• 50 (except voluntary Early Retirement (VER) with employer’s consent.


• 55

UNISON opposes:

Increasing the minimum retirement age to 55 will reduce employer’s flexibility to reorganise services, preventing them from retiring workers between 50 and 55 whose jobs become redundant onto an immediate pension.

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Cymru/Wales


• from age 16 to 70• 40 years at age 60 and 45

years overall.


• from age 16 to 75• no membership limit but a £1.5m

lifetime allowance.

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Cymru/Wales

Current NHS Pension Scheme• 1/80th of pensionable pay for each

year of membership.• Final salary (or CARE for

practitioners) .

Proposed new NHS Pension Scheme• 1/60th of pensionable pay for each year

of membership.• Final salary or CARE* (CARE retained

for practitioners).

Views sought in consultation document (page 5) on whether to retain final salary pensions or the introduction of career average pensions in the new scheme.

UNISON is not convinced of the case for the proposal for a Career Average Scheme.

* CARE - Career Average revalued earnings

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Cymru/Wales

Current NHS Pension Scheme• Fixed lump sum 3/80th.


• Lump sum by commutation* up to 25%.

* Commutation: giving up part of the pension in exchange for a lump sum. (3/80ths only post 1972)

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• Best of last 3 years’ pensionable pay.


• Range of options being considered including up to the last 13 years’ pensionable pay.

Views sought: Range of opportunities to be considered in consultation document under “Flexibility” (page 8).

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Cymru/Wales


• No pensionable re-employment except ill-health and return to the NHS under age 50.

• Pension payable on retirement only.


• Pensionable re-employment - no exceptions.

• ‘Draw down’ - allows members to apply for part of their retirement benefits without stopping work.

Views sought on step-down, draw-down, pensionable re-employment and enhanced pensions for late retirement (page 8).

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Cymru/Wales


• No late retirement enhancement.


• Pension enhancement if retiring after 65.

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• No abatement after age 60 or after 50 where pension is actuarially reduced on grounds of VER.

• VER from age 50


• No abatement at all or abatement based on enhanced element of the pension only.

• VER from age 55.

* VER: Voluntary Early Retirement

Views sought in consultation document (page 9).

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Don’t forget our ‘Drive for 55’ campaign in Wales

Cymru/Wales

Current NHS Pension Scheme• Purchase of Added Years.• Three AVC/Stakeholder partners

(Standard Life, The Prudential and Equitable Life Assurance Society).

Proposed new NHS Pension Scheme• In-house AVC * scheme to buy extra

pension and/or maintain a revised Added Years arrangement.

• Maintain choice of providers or reduce to one AVC/Stakeholder partner or remove arrangement.

Views sought on three options for an externally provided MPAVC * Scheme in the future. (page 9).

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* AVC: Additional Voluntary Contributions MPAVC: Money Purchase Additional Voluntary Contributions

Cymru/Wales


• Protection where members lose pay through no fault of their own such as employer-instigated organisational change.


• Maintain current protection arrangements; extend to allow employees to secure protection where loss of pay is voluntary and allow members to maintain contributions on higher pay.

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• Ill-health retirement benefits up to 10 years’ extra service.


• Partnership review of sickness and ill-health arrangements.

Views sought in consultation document regarding sickness and ill-health retirement arrangements (page 10/11).

LIKELY TO HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON AMBULANCE SERVICES

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• For legal spouse only and same-sex registered civil partnerships from 2006


• For all partners (same-sex unregistered and unmarried partners)

• Ending of cessation of survivor pension on remarriage

Views sought on providing partner pensions including ending cessation or survivor pension on remarriage (page 7).

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Cymru/Wales


• Death in service lump sum twice annual pensionable pay.

Proposed new NHS Pension Scheme• Considering increasing death in service

lump sum to three times annual pensionable pay for those with no dependants, two times annual pensionable pay for all others.

Views sought within consultation document (page 7/8).

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Cymru/Wales


• Payable under the age of 17 and from 17 if still in full-time education (beyond 23 if physically or mentally dependent).


• Payable if under 17 whilst in full time education up to the age of 23, or payable up to the age of 23 in all cases (beyond 23 if physically or mentally dependent).

Views sought within consultation document regarding payments (page 7).

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Cymru/Wales


• Initial widow/widower(s) pension paid for 3 or 6 months subject to dependent children.


• Initial widow/widower(s) pension paid for 6 months regardless of dependent children.

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Cymru/Wales

Detailed information and documents relating to the Review of the NHS Pension Scheme can be found at

www.nhsemployers.org

In addition the UNISON website is continually being updated with new information

www.unison.org.uk/pensions

&

www.unison-welsh-ambulance.co.uk

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Documents

Cymru/Wales NHS No Major Reviews Ambulance Service only Joined in 1970’s Part review in 1980’s No ‘Special Class’ status for Ambulance Staff HISTORY Pension