I might be behind the drag curve of this discussion, but here is the actual statement (copied from the Parliament website) made in the House of Commons on Tue 21 Jun:
quote:
Armed Forces (Redundancy)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Don Touhig): Current redundancy compensation terms for members of the regular armed forces have remained largely unchanged since the early 1970s and do not reflect changes to re-employment prospects or in wider Government policy for this area. Nor do they take account of the changes in benefit structure made under the new armed forces pension scheme. They have therefore been reviewed, working closely with the single services and I now wish to announce the outcome of that review.
The new terms are designed to compensate fairly those whose careers are prematurely shortened as a result of redundancy, and are to be used as part of any planned restructuring of the armed forces as announced by the Secretary of State for Defence from time to time. The Ministry of Defence has two schemes which provide normal early-leavers' benefits for the regular armed forces—one relating to the 1975 pension scheme and one to reflect the changes made to the value of mid-career benefits with the introduction of the new 2005 scheme. Despite the differences between these two schemes, the redundancy packages for each scheme will be broadly comparable.
21 Jun 2005 : Column 33WS
The new terms will continue to be made up of a one-off tax-free lump sum which, for those serving until or beyond mid-career, will be supplemented with an immediate pension paid under the armed forces pension scheme 1975 (AFPS 75) or income paid under the 2005 early departure scheme. The size of the lump sum and of the annual pension or income stream will, as now, vary according to length of service and pay. The 2005 terms will apply to all new entrants from 6 April 2005, but from 6 April 2006 for those who were in service on 5 April 2005 and who decide to transfer to the new pension scheme. The existing terms, as set out in AFPS 75, will remain unchanged until 31 March 2008 when the current drawdown in service manpower announced in July 2004 by the then Secretary of State is due to complete. They will then be replaced by new terms which, in particular, will defer the point at which the current very early immediate pension is paid. This can currently be paid from age 30 but in future only a lump sum will be paid at this very early age. To ease the transition, the replacement terms for AFPS 75 will be phased in over a five-year period from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2013, after which the final terms will apply.
The new arrangements will provide the armed forces with cost-effective arrangements for managing any major drawdown in the level of service manpower and are expected to meet fully the manning needs of the armed forces. Although less valuable in a number of respects than the existing terms, they remain generous by wider standards, as befits the special demands of a career in the armed forces; they reflect changes in wider Government policy for public service schemes; and they are fair with respect to the relationship between level of compensation and length of service. Additional general information on the new arrangements is available on both the MOD's intranet and internet sites, while detail about the new terms will be made public when work on drafting the new rules has been completed.
I am today placing copies of the defence instructions and notices (DIN) on the new redundancy terms in the Library of the House. It is also being placed on the Ministry of Defence website at: [url]www.mod.uk/issues/pensions/
unquote