Pension Update - 22nd January 2020
Colleagues
Please see below statement which has been shared with me via the Department of Finance. This gives a general overview and update on all public sector pension schemes which were affected by the age discrimination judgements.
The Trade Unions and PSNI Staff Associations have also been provided with a document which provides Government thinking and working proposals to address the pension age discrimination matter. This information mirrors that which has been issued by HMG Treasury to all other public service pension scheme stakeholders.
Over the next few months I and others will be involved in a series of technical meetings to facilitate discussion on this document. The scope for the discussions are:
‐ To gain an understanding of employer and employee representatives views on the two remedy options; and
‐ To test deliverability and technical feasibility of the two options with employers and administrators.
The technical discussions will be focused solely on scheme changes to address the discrimination to go alongside remedy directed by the Employment Tribunal and will not include policy surrounding future pension arrangements, the cost control mechanism or the litigation process.
Actual formal consultation will then follow after the technical discussions are concluded during March 2020.
Be assured that I will continue to provide timely updates via e-mail and the PFNI Website as things develop.
Liam Kelly, PFNI Secretary