CIRCULAR     2012HOC0467MW

22 August 2012

TO:    All Members (Control) – England and Wales
CC:     All Members (Control) – Scotland and Northern Ireland – For Information Only

Dear Brother/ Sister

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) – England and Wales: FBU members’ ballot result – Proposals remain unacceptable

As you will be aware, the FBU held a consultative ballot for Firefighter (Control) members in England and Wales who belong to the LGPS. This ballot consisted of two questions;

1. Is the proposed 2014 LGPS acceptable?
2. Do you want the FBU to continue trying to achieve access for Firefighters (Control) into a specific Fire Service pension scheme?

The Executive Council recommended that members voted No to Question 1 because two key areas of concern remain.

These issues identified by the Executive Council are:

1)       The proposed Normal Pension Age of (up to) 68

By linking the Normal Pension Age (NPA) to the state pension age from 2014, members will have to work beyond 65, with some expected to work to 68. This is both unrealistic and unworkable for the majority of FBU members working in Fire Control, because of shift work and the stressful and demanding nature of the job.

2)       The revaluation and accrual rates agreed for the CARE scheme

• The link between the accrual rate and the revaluation of pensions should take account of length of service and the impact of inflation. Although the accrual rate of 1/49ths is better than before (1/60th), it is only achieved worsening the revaluation rate

• Because FBU members in Fire Control normally tend to have lengthy careers it is important that this is considered.

• The FBU’s professional advice from our actuarial consultants shows that the earlier proposal with an accrual rate of 1/60^th linked with a revaluation rate of average weekly earnings would have produced a better return over the last 45 years than this new proposal which uses a better accrual rate 1/49th but a worse revaluation rate (CPI).

• The FBU is very concerned that this proposal (1/49^th accrual and CPI revaluation) does not reflect the best outcome for our LGPS members.

The results of the ballot which closed on 22 August 2012 are as follows:

1. Is the proposed 2014 LGPS acceptable?

Result:

Yes 10%

No 90%

2. Do you want the FBU to continue trying to achieve access for Firefighters (Control) into a specific Fire Service pension scheme?

Result:

Yes 87%

No 13%

The Executive Council will now be considering all options available and will update members via the usual channels. Head Office officials will liaise with officials of the CSNC to ensure the views of Control members are considered in any further campaigning work

Best wishes.

Yours fraternally

MATT WRACK

GENERAL SECRETARY