Vote YES to Protect Your Pension: LGPS 2014 Ballot

From tomorrow (31 July 2012) UNISON members will be able to vote on the new look Local Government Pension Scheme 2014.

My advice is to ignore the miserablists who are urging rejection for reasons I cannot even begin to understand never mind explain.  This (LGPS 2014) is a good deal.

Since the Union cannot identify who is in the scheme or not, all those who work for employers who have membership of the LGPS will be balloted. If you are currently in the pension scheme you need to vote YES to secure it. If you are not currently in the scheme I would also recommend you vote YES since you may be able to join it later.

Voting YES is a "no-brainer" in my view. This is a good deal that should secure the scheme for the future. Check out the latest advice below from the UNISON pension advisors:-

"It’s time to have your say! Use your vote on the new pensions proposals.

• Ballot will be held 31 July – 24 August.
• Ballot helpline (10-21 August) 0845 355 0845

Among the improvements to the LGPS negotiated by Unison are:

• No overall contribution increase – 90% of members will pay the same or lower contributions than now – you will only pay more if you earn over £43,001 a year.
• A career average scheme which uses all your pensionable pay to calculate your pension, increase in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
• An improved 1/49th accrual rate, which means your pension builds up faster each year
• Pensionable pay will include non contractual overtime and additional hours worked by part-time and term-time wokrers – so more of your earnings will count towards your pension
• Most part time workers will pay less for their pension as contributions for part timers will be based on actual pensionable earnings from 2014, not the full time equivalent as they are now
• A new 50/50 option means that after April 2014 you can choose to pay half the contribution to receive half the pension in those years while keeping full survivor benefit and ill-health pension protection. You can opt back into the full contribution for full pension rate at any time.
• If you are transferred to a private or voluntrary sector employer, you will still have the right to stay in the LGPS.

Current scheme members’ pensions benefits for service before 1 April 2014 are protected and will still be calculated on final pensionable salary on leaving service or retirement. The current normal pension age of 65 will continue to apply to this part of your pension. The existing Rule of 85 protections will still apply and members will not have their pension reduced if they are made redundant after the age of 55 regardless of normal pension age.

If you want to find out more about how these changes will affect you then go to http://www.unison.org.uk/pensions/lgps.asp"

LGPS 2014 ballot - Vote YES to protect your future (& ignore the miserablists)

From UNISON eFocus today. There will be a ballot on the new proposed Local Government Pension Scheme 2014.

UNISON members who work for my employer and in my branch have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the deal. This will keep a world class guaranteed pensions scheme for all and stop the discrimination of low paid women in favour of highly paid senior management and Chief Executives.

The ballot will start on 31 July and last until 24 August. You can also vote on-line.

While there are some who have genuine reservations about the proposal, there is also a miserablist opposition who are simply mischief making and doing all they can to distort and undermine the new scheme.

Through our arguments, campaigning and collective action we have defended the LGPS and retained a world class guaranteed defined benefit pension scheme. 

Some people simply don't know how to quit when they are ahead!

More Key Facts about the LGPS 2014 (and Too Hot Ta Trot)

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More key facts from UNISON about the the new proposed Local Government Pension scheme (LGPS 2014).

• 90% of members willpay the same or less contributions as now

All pensionable service before 1 April 2014will retain a Normal Pension Age of 65

• Most part-time workers and those with actual pensionable earnings between £15,801 and £21,000 will pay less in LGPS 2014
• Over 55% of local government workers work part-time


Only those earning over £43,001 will pay more


They make up just 4% of LGPS members
• 95.6% members earn less than £43,000 - the point at which contributions increase


The LGPS 2014 will for many members deliver a better pension than LGPS 2008, especially for those with less than 20 – 25 years of membership
• But the average length of membership in the scheme is just 7 years, so most members will do better in LGPS 2014

• From 1 April 2014 the Normal Pension Age (NPA) will be at least 65 and will then increase in line with the State Pension Age – which is set to rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046.
• The existing Rule of 85 protections will remain. Members aged 55 or over at 1 April 2012 will be protected by an underpin, which ensures that those people will be no worse off as a result of these changes. Under the proposals there are no plans to remove the pension protection for those made redundant from age 55

• Those who have to work longer will get a bigger pension because they will be paying contributions – and benefitting from employer contributions for longer
• Because all earnings will be pensionable – including non-contractual overtime and additional hours for part-time workers – members will have bigger pensions than now
• Most UNISON members not in the LGPS give cost and low pay as the reason. The "50/50 option" will help them to join

I note that the blogging Miserabilist in Chief, Jon of the Rogers (failed ultra left candidate for London regional convener and General Secretary) has been having a pop at me over this post. Now of course he misrepresents what I have said (I do accept that some non trots do think we could have got a better deal - amazing but true) but since he also makes a series of blatant untruths about the impact of CPI, survivor benefits, the stability of the LGPS, accrual etc etc I would hope by now that very few people paid any attention to his whining and whinging.

He again attacks our staff which is unacceptable especially since as a NEC member he is suppose to be their employer. He also shows his ignorance of the difference between a guaranteed public sector pension scheme and a private sector scheme.

So desperate are they to continue with their calls for general strikes and student union toytown revolutionary politics they want to destroy a perfectly good pension scheme.

The bottom line is he and the other Miserablists support the continuation of a discriminative pension scheme which penalises low paid women workers and benefits senior management and Chief Executive Officers. Nuf said.  (Hat tip Mel for Youtube video)

Moanie fibbing miserabalists and the LGPS 2014

Crikey - I thought that I have seen it all, but there is some really stupid, ignorant, completely self destructive fibs and smears being put out about the proposed new Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS 2014) by a tiny number of extremists.  Who obviously do not give a damn about the pensions of their members.

  

I can just about accept that there are some UNISON activists who genuinely think we could have delivered loads and loads of strike action that would somehow have improved the bargaining position to get a better deal. I think they are wrong but what we find now is that there are those who seemingly want their members to retire in abject poverty, because that will somehow, further the revolutionary cause? Since they are sending out complete and utter fibs and smears about the new proposals.

What will be their position if the scheme is accepted? When UNISON will be running one of its biggest ever campaigns to encourage members to join the schemes during auto-enrolling? When all members will be by law compulsory placed in a pension scheme? How can they persuade their members to join what will be by any objective intelligent standard, a bloody good scheme, when they have completely rubbished it to them?

I can understand a reasoned debate on the pros and cons of the new scheme but we find extremist branch secretaries, who are personally fully protected themselves, from any of the proposed changes trying to persuade their members that the new guaranteed defined benefit scheme is completely "evil".  By doing so they are doing their very best to destroy a decent pension scheme.

This is shameful. Just because the extremists cannot go on strike, after strike, after strike; they are throwing all their toys out of the pram. While I would hope nobody will pay any attention to such stupidly I have no doubt that some members will and they will leave or not join the pension scheme and then have to endure their old age to die in miserable poverty.  

Members (not Miserablists) to decide on pensions

Today the annual conference for UNISON members who work in Local Government opened in Bournemouth.

I no longer work in Local Government so this year I was not present but I will be down for the UNISON National Delegate Conference on Tuesday as the NEC member for Community.

However, as a long standing member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) I was very pleased to hear that the Local Government conference today rejected calls to oppose the new proposed LGPS 2014 and it will now go out to consultation to all members.

Check my post here on "The new LGPS 2014 (and the old Miserablists)".

I did follow some of the debate via twitter on #ulgc12 and #undc12 and apart from the usual silly trolls I was surprised to see how some delegates who lost the vote and therefore disagreed with the democratic decision reacted by attacking their own union for being "cowardly"? Which does make me really wonder why they want to remain a member of an union they publicly attack in such abusive terms? Very strange?

Now the chief miserablists are attacking the union because they disagreed with the Chair of the Conference for not calling a "Card vote" on a motion. Which is different.  I admit that I was not there today but everyone I have contacted about the vote say that the decision by Conference (although close) was clear and a card vote should not have taken place. So I assume it is sour grapes as per usual by the miserablists.

One further point. I note that some of the miserablists, while complaining that they did not win the day, said never mind there was plenty of time to rubbish the new scheme to members before there is a new ballot? 

Hmmm? Do these people actually realise how important pensions are to ordinary working people? I may be wrong but I think that it is probable that the LGPS 2014 will be accepted. Now I think that would be a good decision and it the right of others to disagree. But what these others should be conscious of is that we have already the worse uptake of membership in the LGPS of any of the public sector schemes. Now, you might think that the scheme could be better but if you start rubbishing it and you get one member not join or leave the scheme as a consequence and die in absolute poverty then shame on you.

With pension auto-enrolling later this year and next we have an once in a life time opportunity to organise, recruit and persuade members to join a decent pension scheme. No matter what your views are of LGPS 2014 - don't attack it as a "bad" or "rubbish" scheme.  You think it could be better, which is an entirely different issue. Once this ballot is over (one way or another) we will all have a job of work to do to get our members to remain and join the scheme.

(picture above of some of those who should be deciding the future of the scheme by a secret ballot).

update: Check out UNISONactive take on yesterday

The new LGPS 2014 (and the old Miserablists)

On Wednesday I went to a presentation/Q&A by UNISON to London Region on the proposed new Local Government Pension Scheme 2014. It was on the whole a fairly good humoured and constructive meeting.

I think that the points that struck home with the audience was that 90% of scheme members will pay the same in the new scheme (or less). Only the very high paid will pay more (and they will be gain by higher rate tax relief)

Members within 10 years of retirement will be fully protected (so-called Grandparent Rights).

It will be a fairer, non-discriminatory scheme.  It will improve the build up of benefits for everyone but in particular will mean a better pension for low paid women workers who have average service who will pay less and gain more (70% of our members are women).

There will be a new temporary 50% cut in the cost of staying in the pension scheme (with a corresponding cut in benefits). This will help stop members leaving when they have temporary financial problems. One of my top stewards recently admitted she had to leave the scheme to pay for childcare. Something she had always regretted.

More room for flexible retirement age (still from age 55). I cannot count the number of members I have met who want to "downsize" when they get older and take less stressful roles but cannot under the present scheme since if they if they do so towards the end of their career their final pension will be massively cut.

Workers who depend on non contractual overtime and other earnings will finally be able to protect their full income when they retire.

While the preservation (against huge opposition) and extension of “Fair deal” will protect workers who face or have been out sourced. They will be able to keep their pensions! This is a significant improvement. Which nobody who really cares about the future of working people should put at risk.

The scheme is different and complex but not impossible to understand. There were a number of good questions and points made in the Q&A (even by some of the usual suspects). Yet the miserablists were also present. Barracking, muttering, carping, misrepresenting and scaremongering. Making grossly inaccurate statements and indulging in self important grand standing.

I made the point that as a member of the LGPS for 19 years I was pleased that we now finally have the prospect of a truly long term affordable and sustainable pension scheme. The LGPS 2014 is a world class guaranteed scheme. Which we should now be arguing that all employers, private and public, should either join the scheme if eligible (and many will be) or use as a benchmark to set up a similar scheme to give their workers decent pensions.

To illustrate the value of the scheme I pointed out that where I work those UNISON members who have no access to the LGPS and have to pay into a non guaranteed personal pension scheme would have to save over their career, a saving pot of £300,000 to get a similar £10,000 per year pension. This savings pot would also potentially go up and down due to the vagaries of the stock market. So who knows what you will retire on.

The current average lifelong personal pension saving pot is £32,000. Do the maths.

Everyone is perfectly entitled (and expected) to query and challenge. I can understand those who say that they don't yet understand all what is being proposed yet or even those who genuinely think that we did have the bargaining power to get an even better deal.

I am forced to conclude that the miserablists however don’t give the proverbial about what are the best interests for members. They are driven by their ultra left sectarianism. Nothing would satisfy them. As a longstanding pension activist I can say with certainly that they had no interest whatsoever in pensions before they saw the opportunity to "strike chase" on the backs of ordinary workers. They are extremists who want to hijack the dispute to indulge in their toy town gesture politics.

Ironically it is the Tory right who are spitting the most blood and crying "betrayal" at our deal.
This week I came across, let us say, a "leading opponent" of public sector DB pensions. Who told me that the Government had "surrendered" to the unions. When I told him that there was some opposition to the proposals, he was genuinely shocked and said "don't they really realise how good it is"? I said yes most of them do, but they pretend otherwise.

UNISON has been clear from the beginning that once we have a final offer then it will be put to the members to decide in a secret ballot.

Let us also make clear that LGPS 2014 is potentially a bloody good deal won by our negotiators and our collective action. A perfect deal? No deal is ever perfect but this is really as good as it gets.

But the members should decide.

(Youtube video of leading lights of UNISON united left HotAir guitarists plotting world domination)