All Public sector pensions articles
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NewsTPR publishes McCloud guidance on annual benefit statements for public schemes
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) haspublished guidance for public service pension schemes on producing annual benefit statements over the next two years to reflect the McCloud remedy.
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NewsPublic sector pension bill exceeds UK GDP for the first time
Figures released by HM Treasury reveal that Britain’s public sector pension bill has exceeded the size of the total economy for the first time.
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NewsDB pension superfund regime gets go ahead
In his Mansion House speech Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK's defined benefit pensions landscape was too fragmented and the government would be pushing forward with plans to create a superfund regulatory regime.
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NewsGovernment proposes changes to LGPS cost-control mechanism
The government is proposing a series of changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme cost control mechanism, aligning it with other public sector plans while giving more discretion to the Scheme Advisory Board.
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NewsNuclear sector DB schemes reform to go ahead after 5-year delay
The House of Lords has approved amendments to the energy bill that will allow the two nuclear public sector schemes to be reformed in line with government policy, five years after originally planned.
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NewsPublic sector pension statements’ deadline delayed
On the go: The government intends to delay the deadline for the issuance of pension savings statements covering the 2022-23 period by a year to October 2024 in certain public sector schemes, as part of the tax remedy to an age discrimination case.
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NewsTruss commits to pensions triple lock as inflation hits 10.1%
Prime minister Liz Truss has confirmed that the triple lock will be maintained, even as September’s figures showed inflation rising to 10.1 per cent.
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News18,000 teachers subject to ‘challenging’ McCloud choice
Some 18,000 teachers have been made retrospectively eligible for Local Government Pension Scheme benefits by the implementation of the McCloud remedy, presenting an “administratively challenging” task for both the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and LGPS-administering authorities, according to the Local Government Pensions Committee.
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NewsFBU urges employment tribunal to protect member benefits
The Fire Brigades Union has said it will encourage and assist its members in taking claims before an employment tribunal to protect their pension benefits, while it continues to negotiate with the Home Office for a permanent solution.
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NewsGovernment presses ahead with NHS scheme uplifts
The Department of Health and Social Care has expanded on its plans to change the way member contribution rates are calculated and decided in the NHS Pension Scheme, launching a new consultation laying out its proposed uplifts to contribution tier thresholds.
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NewsDerbyshire among funds at risk in £138mn solar farm scandal
The Derbyshire Pension Fund is among a number of public sector institutions with members’ money invested in a scandal-hit council investment project that has seen £138mn in public money go missing.
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NewsLGA calls for mandatory national insurance data in dashboards
The Local Government Association has argued that making national insurance numbers optional data will lead to a “poor experience” for pensions dashboards users, and has called for the government to make it a mandatory feature.
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PodcastsPodcast: Pension tax changes needed to save NHS from ‘rock bottom’
Podcast: Staff shortages and ever-growing waiting lists have left the NHS at “rock bottom”, but the government “has its head in the sand”. Changes to the pensions taxation regime are essential to fix the problem, argues Vishal Sharma, pensions committee chair at the British Medical Association. He is joined by Mark Bondi, council member at the Society of Pension Professionals and senior technical consultant at Capita, to discuss the NHS, the High Court’s retail price index decision, and pension priorities for new prime minister Liz Truss.
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NewsLabour would scrap pensions tax cap to boost NHS staff
On the go: Labour’s shadow Health and Social Care secretary, Wes Streeting, has pledged to do away with the cap above which NHS workers incur additional tax burdens, in a bid to dissuade experienced staff from retiring.
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NewsStrikes ‘likely’ over TfL pension changes as funding deal reached
Changes to the TfL Pension Fund will be required as part of a financial support package agreed between the government, Transport for London and the mayor of London, with a plan to be presented in September. But unions have rejected the deal, and warned that more strikes are “likely”.
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NewsLGPS calls for ‘future-proofing’ benefits against discrimination
On the go: The chair of the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board, councillor Roger Phillips, has written to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities asking for reforms to discriminatory death and survivor benefits in the LGPS, and to protect the scheme against future legal challenges.
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News‘Disingenuous’ pension proposals will not fix NHS staffing crisis
The government’s proposed pension rules tweaks around “retire and return” for some NHS Pension Scheme members, in a bid to tackle the mounting staff retention crisis, have been criticised by commentators who argue that the changes do not go far enough.
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NewsCivil service union issues strike ultimatum
The Public and Commercial Services Union has threatened the government with strikes in the civil service unless it accedes to demands for improved pay, pensions and job security.
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NewsFirefighters’ options exercise requires ‘corrective action’
On the go: “Corrective action” is required for certain members of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, after a number of Fire and Rescue Authorities failed to conduct an options exercise properly.
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NewsGovt to change civil servants’ early pensions access
The government has proposed to change the rules around early access to pensions in the civil service, tracking 10 years behind state pension age, according to a new consultation over reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.