I have heard a rumor of 26 March for the announcement.
I have also heard the FRI is being closely looked at in the current options round. FRIs have never been popular with the Treasury and they can cite increasing recruitment and retention as a rationale to drop them.
Notwithstanding this, the military pay award has been below the RPI for more than 10 years. What does this mean? Every year our standard of living has been dropping, especially in the context of above-inflation increases in energyl, council tax, housing and food. We become largely blind to this because we receive increases in the form of increments, promotion and AFPRB awards. You need to compare the purchasing power of your rank ten years ago to that of today.
So What? Every year a career in the military less and less attractive, whilst we continue to be asked to do more and more - egged on by FRI, Op allowance, LSA et al. FRIs and Op Allowances, whilst pleasant, are just sticking plasters. The bottom line is the military salary is woefully below where it should be.
Also, I wouldn't retire before 2020 if you want a decent pension. Quantitive easing will cause circa double digit inflation for a significant period commencing in the next 5 years. You are quids in if you have a mortgage though - look to those long-term fixed rate deals.
I don't hate the RAF/Army/Navy-I want to stay in. But I do wish to be fairly recompensed for what I do and I don't think we are at the moment. Should we be expected to work for peanuts because we enjoy what we do?
If there was a PPRUNE in the seventies I expect exactly the same argument would have been raised in 1978/9. It wasn't until the double digit forces pay-rises of the early 80s that the military got back to a living wage.
Nothing will change whilst the current neo-socialist regime is in power, but I suspect on the now-inevitable change in government there is unfortunately nothing left in the pot for us, except a convenient location to urinate in.
Also, how many of you have been given reassurance or an explanation by chains of command as to the delay in announcing the pay award?
Rant over,