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RoyAlMail, you are quite correct about the new scheme not being as good as the old scheme, which in turn was not as good as the original final salary scheme.
The original pension proposal from 2018 onwards was a Defined Contribution scheme which is essentially a savings plan so upon retirement age you get a pot of money to invest but not a monthly payment which is fine if you are only going to live for a decade longer but no good if you plan on living until 100.
The new proposal is actually one that the CWU pushed for and has been used in The Netherlands for about 50 years. It splits the liabilities between employer and employee and is far more sustainable. The only issue is that it needs to be ratified by Parliament but Brexit appears to be taking up so much ministerial time that it has been put on the back burner for now. Hopefully it will be dealt with after Halloween.
There are a number of large companies also looking at this scheme including BT and Openreach as they currently have huge pension liabilities.
I'm not a pension expert but the pension deal from 2018 looks terrible to me. Sorting that should be top of CWU priorities and the only thing worth striking about imho.
Apologies, it should have read RoyAlMail but predictive text changed it.
Royal mail, that would sound more like it.
I will be facing the same situation in a couple of years as I have 28 years in the original scheme that I can take. Fortunately this is ring fenced by the government.
I understand that the pension scheme had to change in 2008 as they were going to be in trouble following a large 'pensions contribution holiday' by Royal Mail in the 1990s. BT are currently looking to review their pension scheme as they allegedly have a projected £2bn shortfall as a result of a similar 'pensions contribution holiday'.
I think oggie's point is that RMG unilaterally change the pension for the worse in 2008 and the union did nothing. Now they are up in arms because management are not consulting them.
Oggie19, your final salary pension is the amount accrued up until March 31st 2008 and is ring fenced and guaranteed by Her Majesty's Government. The only difference is if you are in the A/B or B/C scheme.
From April 1st 2008 to March 31st 2018 you would be in the "Defined Benefit" scheme which is based on your annual income, in other words you build up credits each year.
If you think that your pension has not been calculated correctly then contact the pension helpline.
The pension fund does make mistakes and I am currently working with the CWU and Royal Mail because I have CWU members that have not been deducted the correct amount since 1998 which could impact their pension by as much as 10%.
prdc, unfortunately, I find your comment ", sadly the union today is unrealistic and the people who run them are only looking after themselves .I say this as a union member" quite bizarre. If this is your thinking then why are you parting with £3.80 a week to be a CWU member? Just sayin'......
Lump sum, I have lost on the monthly pension about £20 a month, but as some say u cannot lose wat u didn't have. Still a good pension compared to a lot outside.
Hi Oggie19, I'm interested to learn how you lost circa £10k on your final salary pension. Was this in the lump sum or the monthly salary payment?
Sadly as I have said in a previous post, a union as big as the cwu has wages, pensions, buildings cost etc, so it is a business as well with its income from the members. I worked out that I lost about £10k on my finale salary pension, yet there was nothing done by the union when royalmail stopped this, maybe no one was losing their job?
I really don't understand people who have negative views. In life always be positive in all ways, that includes work. I believe in a good union that looks after its workers but sadly the union has been taken over, and no matter what you do they want more.
a good workforce is a happy workforce, sadly the union today is unrealistic and the people who run them are only looking after themselves .I say this as a union member.