Dear Brother/Sister,
Please find attached the report that has been prepared in relation to the current pension proposals. As part of our ongoing pension dispute the Fire Brigades Union commissioned YouGov to undertake a membership survey in relation to the current proposals. This is the third consecutive year in which such a survey has been run and the information gathered has been utilised in several forms to provide evidence to support our concerns. On this occasion several of the questions were specifically designed to reflect the differences in proposals around the UK.
The government is proposing a series of changes to Firefighters' Pensions Schemes. Proposals include increasing how much members contribute towards their pension, how long they work and flexible retirement plans. This may have an impact on numbers of scheme members opting out of the pension scheme. The report explores each of these proposals in turn including:
- Increasing the amount firefighter's contribute toward their pension;
- Opting-out of the pension scheme;
- Raising the age of retirement for firefighter's to 60;
- Flexible retirement options in England, Wales and Scotland;
- Commutation proposals.
It is important to note that the survey was designed to assess FBU member's attitudes on the proposed reforms. A total of 6,267 members responded to the survey. Throughout the report, respondents of the survey will be referred to as FBU members, this report is only referring to those who took part in the survey and not FBU or pension scheme members in general.
This report will also be available on the FBU website www.fbu.org.uk
Yours in Unity,
Sean Starbuck
National Officer
2014HOC0073SS
