The long-awaited proposals for the future of our Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) have been published online at http://www.lgps.org.uk/lge/core/page.do?pageId=15431012.
UNISON activists are currently assessing these. What is immediately obvious is that, as we already knew, the normal retirement age will be linked to the (rising) state pension age so that those wishing to retire at 65 will have to give up a proportion of their pension to do so, and, as we also knew, pensions in payment will be uprated in line with the less generous Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rather than in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) as previously.
Whilst the "accrual rate" of 1/49th appears more generous than the rate of 1/60th in the current scheme, because (as we also already knew) the new scheme will be a career average scheme rather than a final salary scheme, the revaluation rate also has to be taken into account - and this is proposed to be equivalent to the CPI (rather than the more generous revaluation rates proposed in the health service and teachers' pension schemes).
Our negotiators do appear, however, to have averted contribution increases for many members.
On the face of it we appear to be being asked to accept a less valuable scheme for the future - but this needs some further scrutiny. What doesn't need any further scrutiny is the proposed capitulation to the increasing retirement age and to the CPI uprating.
Not a good deal.
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