Originally Posted by
Al R
Genuine question. Here's the answer, just a FOI question to support a pension campaign. I asked because the answer surprised me. Reading some of the answers, I might not be the only one. Holdin' out for the RoS after IPP..?
No surprise in the current 'average' age as the young cannot leave due to RoS and a relatively stable number of the older generation did stay in to see the end of their AFPS75/05 pension.
When you look at the stats in more detail you can see precious few of those aged in their late 30s or early 40s have remained in, leaving a trough between them and those approaching their full pension.
Once that older generation has gone (next 5 to 10 years) we will have a very different age profile and a much higher rate of churn. The OCU system is already failing to train enough to replace the exit rate so nobody at Air is sure how we will maintain anything like manning balance, let alone acheiving the required number of suitably qualified & experienced pilots/aircrew.
The new employment model seeks a younger workforce that leaves well-ahead of expensive pension provisions. For the majority in the armed forces this model works well. Unfortunately it completely guts those areas that require more specialist and difficult to acquire skills. Squeezing our people dry does not help matters either - if you need a respite tour than there are few options beyond leaving.