Category: pensions

Compensation refusal is desperate blow for ‘Waspi’ women

Commenting on the government’s announcement today (Tuesday) that no compensation will be paid to ‘Waspi’ women who have campaigned to be treated fairly after changes to their pensions, UNISON head of equality Josie Irwin said:

“This decision is a cruel blow to a generation of women, some of whom are now suffering financially. That’s because the coalition government moved the goalposts about when the women could claim their state pension.

“Thousands of women had been clinging to the hope that they’d won the case for the proper compensation they deserve.

“Many who devoted their working lives to public service have already died, but there are plenty more who really need the extra financial help they rightly expected in their retirement.

“The government must find a way to resolve this desperately unfair situation. Refusing to pay compensation is not the answer.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union and the largest union in the NHS and in the ambulance sector, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk

 

 

 

The article Compensation refusal is desperate blow for ‘Waspi’ women first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Compensation refusal is desperate blow for ‘Waspi’ women

Commenting on the government’s announcement today (Tuesday) that no compensation will be paid to ‘Waspi’ women who have campaigned to be treated fairly after changes to their pensions, UNISON head of equality Josie Irwin said:

“This decision is a cruel blow to a generation of women, some of whom are now suffering financially. That’s because the coalition government moved the goalposts about when the women could claim their state pension.

“Thousands of women had been clinging to the hope that they’d won the case for the proper compensation they deserve.

“Many who devoted their working lives to public service have already died, but there are plenty more who really need the extra financial help they rightly expected in their retirement.

“The government must find a way to resolve this desperately unfair situation. Refusing to pay compensation is not the answer.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union and the largest union in the NHS and in the ambulance sector, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services – in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk

 

 

 

The article Compensation refusal is desperate blow for ‘Waspi’ women first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Council pension reforms must ensure staff voices are heard

Commenting on chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House speech this evening, UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards said today (Thursday):

“The government is right to focus on driving fairer economic growth across the UK. When it comes to proposed changes to the local government pension scheme (LGPS), the devil will be in the detail.

“It’s crucial the voices of scheme members – including council workers, school support staff and many others delivering public services – are central to any changes.

“Scheme members currently make up half of LGPS boards. A good level of accountability must be built into future governance arrangements.

“The LGPS exists to deliver the pensions promised to public sector employees. Any reforms must put their interests first, ensuring they have a decent income in retirement.

“Future LGPS investment decisions should be taken by independent accountable bodies focused on transparency and cost-effectiveness. That would deliver the chancellor’s plan to boost growth while ensuring the returns needed to fund people’s pensions.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk

The article Council pension reforms must ensure staff voices are heard first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Council pension reforms must ensure staff voices are heard

Commenting on chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House speech this evening, UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards said today (Thursday):

“The government is right to focus on driving fairer economic growth across the UK. When it comes to proposed changes to the local government pension scheme (LGPS), the devil will be in the detail.

“It’s crucial the voices of scheme members – including council workers, school support staff and many others delivering public services – are central to any changes.

“Scheme members currently make up half of LGPS boards. A good level of accountability must be built into future governance arrangements.

“The LGPS exists to deliver the pensions promised to public sector employees. Any reforms must put their interests first, ensuring they have a decent income in retirement.

“Future LGPS investment decisions should be taken by independent accountable bodies focused on transparency and cost-effectiveness. That would deliver the chancellor’s plan to boost growth while ensuring the returns needed to fund people’s pensions.”

Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk

The article Council pension reforms must ensure staff voices are heard first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON urges pensions regulator to press for stronger data safety

UNISON has written to the pensions regulator to press for stronger protections to ensure that members’ pensions are safe, after outsourcing firm Capita experienced hacking attacks in March and May this year.

Among the data that has been compromised is information entrusted to Capita by some 450 pension schemes.

UNISON members are in some of the schemes and funds affected, including the Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF), Natural Resources Wales, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and some local government pension funds. Capita has stated that its own pension scheme data has also been compromised, affecting its own employees.

More information about the extent of the data breach is emerging. UNISON members who are active members of the EAPF have received a letter from the company alerting them that the data concerned includes name, address, email address, date of birth, national insurance number, salary, employment details and history, pension amounts and history, and expression of wish details.

Capita has appointed an expert to monitor the web to check if the compromised data has been published. It is also offering affected members of the EAPF and USS schemes an Experian identity theft protection service.

Where this is available to members, they should be encouraged to take up the offer.

UNISON is clear that it is the responsibility of Capita and the pension funds that have entrusted the company with members’ data to mitigate against the risks resulting from this failure to keep data safe.

The union is urging pension funds to keep engaging with Capita and to press them for more information, while also contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office to call on it to pursue an investigation into the cause and risks of the data breach.

The article UNISON urges pensions regulator to press for stronger data safety first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON urges pensions regulator to press for stronger data safety

UNISON has written to the pensions regulator to press for stronger protections to ensure that members’ pensions are safe, after outsourcing firm Capita experienced hacking attacks in March and May this year.

Among the data that has been compromised is information entrusted to Capita by some 450 pension schemes.

UNISON members are in some of the schemes and funds affected, including the Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF), Natural Resources Wales, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and some local government pension funds. Capita has stated that its own pension scheme data has also been compromised, affecting its own employees.

More information about the extent of the data breach is emerging. UNISON members who are active members of the EAPF have received a letter from the company alerting them that the data concerned includes name, address, email address, date of birth, national insurance number, salary, employment details and history, pension amounts and history, and expression of wish details.

Capita has appointed an expert to monitor the web to check if the compromised data has been published. It is also offering affected members of the EAPF and USS schemes an Experian identity theft protection service.

Where this is available to members, they should be encouraged to take up the offer.

UNISON is clear that it is the responsibility of Capita and the pension funds that have entrusted the company with members’ data to mitigate against the risks resulting from this failure to keep data safe.

The union is urging pension funds to keep engaging with Capita and to press them for more information, while also contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office to call on it to pursue an investigation into the cause and risks of the data breach.

The article UNISON urges pensions regulator to press for stronger data safety first appeared on the UNISON National site.

UNISON urges caution over new pension scheme

UNISON is urging caution after this week’s announcement by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that it is launching a new UK pension model.

The UK government seeks to introduce collective defined contribution schemes as an alternative to the UK’s current two primary pension scheme models – defined contribution and defined benefit.

The new scheme is a result of the Pensions Schemes Act that was passed in 2021.

UNISON sees defined benefit schemes as vital in providing decent pensions for many public service workers. However, millions of public service workers – including UNISON members – are not eligible to join such schemes and are dependent on defined contributions schemes instead.

The union has negotiated with employers in these sectors and has successfully brought about a number of relatively high-quality defined contributions schemes for members in recent years.

UNISON head of pensions Glyn Jenkins said that caution was needed when employers consider any changes to existing pension arrangements. “These new pension arrangements must not erode current provision,” he commented.

“UNISON supports improving member outcomes through the introduction of collective defined contribution for members in defined contribution schemes, but the new schemes should not be used to replace viable defined benefit schemes.”

Mr Jenkins pointed out that, on the basis of the union’s experience, many defined contribution schemes will not provide an adequate income for their members.

This is for a number of reasons, including, “woefully inadequate levels of contributions – especially from the employers – and charges on investments.”

He continued: “Collective defined contribution schemes should improve the position for members in defined contributions schemes. Even though such schemes do not guarantee benefit levels, they do set a target benefit level that may be reached.”

The article UNISON urges caution over new pension scheme first appeared on the UNISON National site.