AFPRB:- 2013 Pay rise anyone??
 

Have I got it wrong in thinking that our two year pay freeze is over and that a little extra ££ should be coming our way in about a months time?

A friend who enjoys a military pension has had none of the usual correspondance about incremental rise in pension either. The silence is deafening.

I am quite savvy to the state of the nation, but I am also fully aware of how much extra of my coppers dissapears into electricity, gas and forecourt taxation nowadays. It appears the Govt and Energy companies between them are burning the candle at both ends.

Those of us that 'enjoy a mil pension' will get CPI at whatever it was calculated at last Sep/Oct time. Still too early for the letter notifying the above.

Wasn't it an 'Up to 1%' payrise? Standing by for a 0.001%, while the pigatitions get their collective snout in the trough for another inflation busting pay rise...**** bags..:mad:

The September CPI was 2.2% for those on pensions. I don't normally get a letter just an update to show that the April & May figures will be increased (April as its a part month due to my date and May showing the whole increase). It normally reaches me after the April payment has gone through.

Consumer Price Indices

shows the monthly figures

Huey, maybe 1% in the pot and redistributed so as to improve morale in specific groups?

Cops, paramedics and other civil servants still have pay frozen and also annual increments on hold as well. Has cost my missus thousands in increments already. Dont expect too much!

The overall pay-bill is allowed to go up by 1%. It therefore doesn't have to be 1% across the board, but I'm sure it will be.

Don't forget that if it is 1%, then after tax it is either 0.8% for basic rate tax payers and 0.6% for the higher rate. I reckon my payrise will be just worth about £25 a month after tax - hardly enough to buy a family of 4 a decent meal from a supermarket (horse excluded!).

Hurrrumph...:*

LJ

According to the Daily Mail link, the 1% payrise doesn't kick in until 2014:

So I'm not sure who is right. I should probably be able to work it out for myself, but frankly, there have been so many policy announcements, u-turns and extensions to various aspects of austerity in the past few years, I have lost track of what's what other than the fact that George & his chums in HMRC seem to take more of my pay every month in one way shape or form.

Having just dug out the 2012 AFPRB report, it appears the Daily Mail is incorrect. There's a shocker.

However, it does look as though the X-Factor is up for review this year, so I'm wondering what the potential is to sneak a little extra in through a change there? A more realistic assessment of the motor mileage allowance would also be very welcome at a time when petrol prices are shooting through the roof thanks to a combination of a rapidly weakening pound and market speculation.

I shan't hold my breath for either though :sad:

Well, they might have been, but you've spilled the beans now, old chap.

B:mad:r ... nothing to see here, we are fully austerity compliant. Now move along please!

Edited to add - in all seriousness, they are going to have to do something sooner rather than later about pay. I know of 5 individuals, flt lt - gp capt, who have PVRd in the past 6 weeks and know of at least another 5 who are actively looking and will hit the button as soon as they can find something to go to. And despite the economic fragility, business service companies still seem to be taking people on, so I don't think the MOD can rely on the notion of a austerity preventing people from jumping ship for much longer.

It is all a matter of timing; the sine wave of discontent in the service and the sine wave of hiring in the civil sector. However with the services getting smaller and smaller then the effect on those people leaving has more impact.

That said this is nothing new. It has all happened before. This time though it looks like with the ROS of 5 years on PAS and other examples in other branches that at least manning are aware and attempting to do something about it.

The lack of a payrise though for individuals at the top of their paybands, will certainly increase those in the discontented pool.

Osborne has proven to be a master of timing with this. With Iraq and Afhganistan moving well out of the public gaze (clearly not for the poor sods out there for the next God knows how long), the likelihood of an outcry following a pi$$-poor service pay rise is slim to none. PVRs are not a fully effective weapon in a climate of redundancies and draw down, even if as we all know, the people going out of the door are usually the last ones you can afford to lose in a situation of perpetual undermanning. Once again, the government of the day will attempt to score political points with voters on the backs of service sacrifice - now there's something that never changes no matter how much you think it does.

PS. Jambo, oops - must have enabled the Vulcan mind meld with our posts!

It would have been nice if the payrise had rebalanced the recent loss of Family Allowance; but sadly it seems not.

As for MMA, I gave my accountant my MMA mileage and copies of JPA claims, and received the difference back from HMRC. (HMRC rate is 45p / mile) I am happy that the accountants invoice did not dilute the advantage and in any case, I would rather put money into a local business then the Govt wallet. Likewise, I felt rather smug recently about filling up my cars (sizeable) fuel tank* on the Continent rather then the UK. As you can see, loyalty is a two way street IMHO and these days I have much sympathy with tax exiles.

If you wind the clock back a few years, Pprune speculation and comments wrt pay would have begun pre-Christmas; are we all now institutionalised to accept the shafting we are getting?

*Diesel is cheaper than unleaded on the Continent, but not in the UK.

Watch with SFA rents go up by considerably more than any payrise, rumour has it by considerably more than inflation too. :*

Tiger_mate,

You're absolutely right, you can go about getting relief on the difference amongst other things you might be able to claim back. Unfortunately, if you're getting HTD then as it's a payment for commuting to your regular place of work rather than a meeting or temporary duty, you take a bit of a batting as that doesn't fall into the category of permitted claims.

and just to chip in.... the much discussed 2 year pay freeze is and always was a 2 years and 364 day freeze, assuming we get something this year. Apart from b'stard MP's, most normal people would actually call it a 3 year freeze!

I'm content with a 2.2% RAF pension increase, it matches the 2% the RCAF will get in 2013!:ok:

CWD

Any news? Cutting it kind of close aren't they?

I was thinking about this on the way to work on Thursday. The latest they normally announce is the 19th/20th. I think this is pretty cr@p of the Govt, though. The AFPRB will have made their report and the politicians are just sitting on it because they know it will be bad news and so will wait for a day with some really sh!t news so that this minor bad news is burried.

So much for "increased transparency" - they can't even be straight with their own people...:ugh:

LJ

I understand that they are actually breaking the law as they are failing to provide the statutory notice of rent increases.

Ah well.

JTO

If I was in quarters then I'd 'press to test' on that just to wind up the pencil necks that have sat on this for way too long...

LJ :ok:

Ooooh. Glad I'm in civvy street. 3.3% this year...

I'd thought about the month's notice of charges changes before. However, it depends on how the MOD defines it. Does the change need to be notified a month before 1 Apr when you start "owing" it, or is it a month prior to the last working day of Apr when you actually pay it?

Guess which one my money is on? Do any lawyers, professional or amateur, know? As a landlord, I understand that I have to tell my tenants a month before they start "owing" the money rather than rent payment day.

I thought as a married quarter occupant you do not have the same rights as a tenant renting a house 'normally'. Could this rent rise be covered by that as well? Covenant working wonders, natch.

As a Licensee rather than a tennant we have no rights whatsoever....:(

Just announced.

HM Forces will be exempt from controversial changes to housing benefit - Echelon Wealthcare

BBC R2 said that the Armed Forces exemption is for parents with 'children' who are serving members as opposed to Armed Forces themselves. ie If you are single and retain a room at home with mum & dad, they get the exemption.

Tiger Mate's right.
If your parents are on benefits, then:

If you're a Singly and live with Mam & Dad (rent-free or paying a pittance) at 1st posting, close enough to home, instead of in SLA, then they remain as is for benefits, while you're OOA! (Downside is your OJAR/SJAR will show you up as a possible non-team-player/socialiser)


If you're a Singly in SLA, miles from home, but choose to remain on the electoral register at home (for credit rating purposes), register car at home (for insurance purposes), somewhere to return to while on leave etc, then you lose out!
Mam & Dad are on reduced benefits, or downgrade their house and sell off your bedroom!

Either that or you room share with your parents Student lodger, and can only take leave at home with Mam & Dad during School-Holidays (like the rest of the RAF!) "Mam, What IS that stain on MY Mattress????"

This will lead to a functional Military only during term times as now Singlies will only be able to take leave during school holidays!!!


"Hello, this is RAFP/Med Centre/Fire Section/ATC/JCCC/Aeromed Cell. There is nobody here to take your call at the moment. Please leave a message and we'll call you back after Half Term ..... BEEEEEEP!)



(Or a lodger, and you can only take leave when he returns to his family once/twice a year!)



This may end up being a consideration for PSF's when using QR1027, as they may well be making singlies homeless, as they can no longer return home to Mam & Dad. This will then become a burdon on the Welfare State as they start claiming housing benefit.......! (Only this time a full flat/house as opposed to 1 room at Mam & Dad's (which was their's in the first place!!!!))


Surely Singlies LI should ALWAYS have a right to an actual & usable address outside the wire?
The penalties for a Singly trying to use a work address as a credit rating is appalling. One SAC defaults on a loan and the WHOLE WORK POSTCODE is BLACKLISTED!!!

Whatever happened to the Military Covenant?
Don't Singlies have a right to a Home outside the wire? Or are they just swallowed up and spat out to the welfare state? Not everyone get's married whilst in the Military. Quite a few even get Divorced!

What Divorcee would get a 1-bed flat knowing how much EXTRA green/pink kit they have to store as clothing stores won't take any of it back!!!!



Just HOW WRONG can this policy Be......?

Comments on that kind of thing have been banned for years and the manning offices are very thorough at weeding them out.

Heck, we even have unmarried squadron commanders living in the Mess these days!

So its published, no real surprises!

So a 0.5% increase in X-factor is recommended but not accepted because the department had not budgeted for such an increase..............

X-Factor increase is "under review".

Call me an old cynic, but if it was a decrease of X-factor there would be no such review.

Link, anyone?


ignore....just received from IPP

One percent of a lot is... a lot for the senior officers.
One percent of not a lot is... not a lot for most people and less than a childs family allowance* for most. (*Taken away recently)

A reduction of food charges is very generous considering we are all now on Pay-As-You-Dine negating any 'food charges' being in place at all.

I guess it is the best we could hope for given public spending at the moment, but all things considered, it equates to a pay cut* IMHO.

*Based upon rising energy costs and that almost all servicemen travel well above the average mileage year by year.

Nice to see that your own department fights against a rise in x factor. Good to see the v high priced help getting 1% aswell :ugh: I'm surprised and a little disappointed that those at the bottom of the heap didn't get a little more at the expense of those sitting on the top. :hmm:

The pay rises in the annexes of the report run out at 1.44%, which must therefore include the increase in X-Factor that we are not getting! This makes the report meaningless.