Ginseng
I really don't think it was done by design. Besides, a lot of people got together and tried the legal thing years ago.
As I said before, I think Mr C*ck-up came calling! My bet is that the Aircrew Retention team didn't talk to the Pension Review team and by the time it was all decided, it was too late to answer difficult questions.
Now where have I heard stories like that before?
But as I also said before, the solution is staring them in the face. If they really cared, they would just transfer all aircrew sqn ldrs to the PAS at age 44. After all, they did just give away PAS to all spec aircrew - even to a stumble-bum like me!!
...and if they really really cared (and wanted to invest in their people) then they might even pull their fingers out and redress the balance in time for their men/women to join AFPS05!