Hello, first time post brought on by worry over the changes that are going to be wrought on our pensions.
At the moment, as an AFPS75 member (and according to the pension calculator), I'm expecting to receive an IP of around £13700 based on an 18year commission (I started as a short service but changed to a PC, hence 16+2 years for me) and finishing no higher than a level 9 Flt Lt (that's ambition for you, but I always plan on a worst case scenario!). I'll also hopefully get a gratuity of about 41k in my pocket on the day I leave.
This all now looks like it's going to be altered quite considerably by the change to Career Average Earnings from 2015. I'll only have 5 years left to do by that point but all the differing rumours and opinions on this thread are causing me to question what those last 5 years will bring. Will there by any monetary point to looking to get promoted to SO2 come 2015, assuming I still look to leave at 2020 when my commission comes to an end? What will be the impact on the pension I receive at my IP? Will there still be an IP? Will there be a pension calculator to help thickos like me work out what we're going to get? So many questions but no one at my work seem to have any real idea on what the financial implications will be for those of us who are relatively happy to work out our current commissions but aren't striving to stay in the service until our 50s. If the career average earnings lid comes into place in 2015 then what will the incentive be for people who are looking to say "thanks v much for all the fish but at the end of my regular commission i'm off"?
Also, what's all this about pension-linked tax bills? As stated above, I'm a bit thick so this is A-Level stuff to me. Anyone care to explain it to old stupid here?