JTO,
Interesting.
Could be all irrelevent - if Comrade Balls is to be believed. Over the weekend, he announced that Labour's planned cap on Annually Managed Expenditure (£352 billions spent on running Whitehall, benefits, EU contributions, debt interest) would include pension spending (if Labour got elected). Two things; he'll either now spend the week removing his foot from his mouth and trying to make everyone think he isn't really the complete and utter liability that he tries so hard to make everyone think he is - or the cat is out of the bag.
What price now the triple lock? Either way, I really fear for AFPS and all public sector pensions.
VR,
If this fillet of personnel is so tightly defined, what would help it.. more money? Probably not. That sounds daft, but what des this niche want and need? Long term stability and not having to worry about being caught between the career devil and the deep blue sea. So, instead of going down the route of chucking money at something, why not be creative; why not offer a year to two's gardening leave at the end of the engagement period? It would allow a second career to be started and new coy pension benefits to start to be accrued in lieu of AFPS decimation and it might act like a laxative in the training pipeline.
Just thinking aloud; still haven't had that first coffee.