Dear Brother/Sister
The (Westminster) government has published a consultation document that outlines their proposed increases to employee contribution rates, which would be effective from 1 April 2013. A copy of the consultation document - Proposed Increases to Employee Contribution Rates, effective from 1 April 2013 - issued on 29 November 2012 will be available to read and download on the FBU website.
The consultation document outlines the scope of the consultation, the background behind the government's case for increasing the contributions, proposals for the schemes, a report of the opt-out reviews and a draft amendment order for both the FPS and the NFPS.
Discussions on this and other pension issues are still ongoing and members will receive more information as the situation develops but for now it is important that you are aware of the consultation document and its contents.
Having said that here are some of the main points contained in the document to note:
- This proposal is for year 2 only (i.e. there are further increases proposed for the future) and is a proposal for England only although similar consultations will take place in relation to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
- The different increases proposed for the Firefighters' Pension Scheme and New Firefighters' Pension Scheme.
- Tiered contributions are applied in salary bands.
- Consultation ends on 25 January 2013.
The FBU remains opposed to increases in employee contribution. We believe there is no justification for such increases with FPS and NFPS members already paying extremely high rates of contribution. The union has been preparing evidence outlining our opposition towards any further increase in employee contributions which will be included in our response to this document.
This evidence will sit alongside our developing evidence against proposals on pension age. Discussion on that matter is continuing and further reports will be issued as soon as possible.
Best wishes.
Yours fraternally
Matt Wrack
General Secretary
2012HOC0680MW
