I believe an undertaking that the pension fund contribution would decrease again "when" the deficit has been cleared has been given, the company is making up 2/3 of the deficit, with increased member contributions making up for the other 1/3, remember that the contribution increase of 18% plus is for pilots who want to retire at 55,and there will be a 40% tax allowance to deduct from that increase, you can pay less of an increase and work a bit longer if you like, and spare a thought for the non flying staff who
must work until 65 and whose contributions have gone up from around 6.2% to 11.5% from a much lower salary level and for a 1/60th accrual rate(unless you are willing to have a lower accrual rate -1/80ths- and a max 2.5% growth rate if you freeze your fund or retire!!) I believe it is time for a reality check with regard to the pension fund, it is still worth having (dont forget the death in service benefits and widows pension that goes with the package) and whilst the management of many issues has been woeful the pension issue is not of their making entirely, there has been a distinct lack of information from the trustees who have not verified the companys calculations with regard to deficit and I would be interested in knowing how much AON
consulting creams from the fund for their fee,
remember if you lose or pull out of the final salary scheme you will not (unless extreme luck is on your side !) get into another one, ask any independent financial consultant or expert how much value they put on being in a final salary scheme these days, you might well get a surprise, we will all retire someday and it will be too late to have regrets by then!!
, a little (lot ?) of pain now may be worth it in the longer term, at least they have offered us all 4 different options( 1/ higher contributions with no loss of accrual or benefits /growth,,or 2/ no increase in contributions but a lower accrual and max 2.5% growth, or 3/ a combination of option 1 & 2 ie for pilots a 2% increase in contribution and change of accrual rate from 1/50 to 1/60 per year served, or 4/ leave the scheme freezing your fund with no loss of accrued pension Each individual can choose for any of these options so it is not just a take it or leave it situation , I think it is hard to see what else they could do to keep the final salary scheme alive (and it IS WORTH keeping alive!!) HOWEVER the pay issue is an entirely different matter and enforced awards with no negotiation or consultation is never the way to get the workforce on side, I fear that this time Nige and Co are about to learn the important lesson that even the most dedicated and long suffering members of staff will say ENOUGH !! if they continue to have the urine extracted from them in this manner
I will now stand back and await the inevitable panning from the angry mob
