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Summary of the final position NHS Pension talks on 19 December 2011
Following the conclusion of the NHS Pension talks on 19th
December Unite did not sign up to the agreement as we remain
unwilling to be bounced into implied acceptance of the Heads of
Agreement without first fully consulting our Health Sector National
Committee members on the crucial matter of their pensions. We have
always opposed the unrealistic timetable set by government and
remain concerned at the lack of progress on key areas. A special
meeting of the Health Sector NISC has been arranged for Thursday
5th January at 11am in London, venue to be confirmed.
This summarises the final position reached on the 19th
December
NHS Pensions Heads of Agreement
'This
document sets out the Heads of Agreement on the scheme design for
the NHS Pension Scheme to be introduced in 2015 , on which talks
have concluded. The government have made clear this sets out their
final position on the main elements of scheme design, which unions
have agreed to take to their Executives as the best that can be
achieved through negotiations. Further work on the remaining
details will take place in the new year, and Executives will
consult members as appropriate. This includes a commitment to
suspend any further industrial action while the final details are
resolved and Unions are consulting their members'.
Protection
All accrued rights are
protected - this means that all benefits earned before 2015 will
not be affected (in terms of amount and when they can be drawn) and
will remain linked to future final salary.
All active members with 10 years or less to their current
pension age in April 2012 will see no change in when they can
retire, nor any decrease in the amount of pension they receive when
they retire
Members who are within a further 3.5 years of being 10
years before their normal pension age in April 2012 will have
limited protection with a tapered delay to the time when they move
into the new scheme
Contributions
The Government is pressing
ahead with its proposal to raise member contributions by an
average of 3.2% of pay over the period 2012 - 4. There will be no
increase in April 2012 for staff on less than WTE £26,557 but most
Unite members will be paying either 1.5% or 2.4% more. Almost
inevitably many lower paid staff will see some increase in 2013 and
2014 and members on higher pay significant further increases taking
their contributions close to or above 10%
New Scheme from 2015
Pension scheme based
on career average
Provisional accrual rate of 1/54th
Revaluation of active members benefits in line with CPI plus 1.5%
per annum
Normal Pension Age equal to State Pension Age
Pensions in payment to increase in line with CPI
Average member contributions of 9.8% with tiered
contributions
Optional lump sum commutation at the rate of £12 of lump sum for
every £1 pension
Early/Late retirement factors on an actuarially cost neutral
basis
Fair Deal
'On the basis that the scheme
design in this HoA is agreed, the government agrees to retain Fair
Deal Provision and extend access to public service schemes for
transferring staff. This means that all staff whose employment is
compulsorily transferred from the NHS under TUPE, including
subsequent TUPE transfers, will be able to retain membership of the
NHS Pension scheme when transferred. In addition a partnership
review of the implementation of the provisions set out in this
paragraph for staff working in " Any Qualified Providers" (AQP)
will be carried out'
There are also a number of areas such as contribution increases
and employer cost cap to be further discussed in early
2012
