Independent Public Services Pensions Commission

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The UK Chancellor invited John Hutton to chair an independent commission on public service pension provision. [1] This was intended to reduce the otherwise increasing cost of taxpayer-funded state pensions (as life expectancy increased) while ensuring adequate levels of retirement income.

Contents

Recommendations made in the report

[2]

Reactions

The Pensions Policy Institute pointed out that these Defined Benefit schemes are available in the public sector but largely not available in the private sector which are Defined Contribution. [3] Several public sector Unions called strikes. [4]

Government implementation

The government held consultations with the unions in 2011. In December they announced they had reached agreements with the four largest unions. [5] A notable change from the original report was accrual rates were higher (more put in each year) and revaluation factors were lower (the growth of earlier year's contributions) than the Commission had recommended. There was also a guarantee for people less than 10 years from retirement age. [6]

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References

  1. "UK Government Web Archive".
  2. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207720/hutton_final_100311.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  3. Curtis, Polly (25 November 2011). "Are public sector pensions fair?". The Guardian.
  4. "Public sector strikes disrupt services across England". BBC News. 30 November 2011.
  5. "HM Treasury". 22 November 2023.
  6. "Statement by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP on Public Service Pensions". 20 December 2011.