Submitted by SWFBU on
TO: ALL MEMBERS
Dear Brother/Sister
GOVERNING YOUR PENSIONS: FUTURE GOVERNANCE OF THE FIREFIGHTERS’ PENSION SCHEME
FBU members will be well aware of the various attacks on pension rights from the Coalition Government. There are, however, other changes relating to pensions which are also important. These relate to how public service pension schemes are governed, i.e. managed, supervised and advised. It is obviously important that pension scheme members have confidence in the people who may need to advise Government, provide advice on policy to local employers or play a role in supervising administration of the pension scheme.
Part of the Public Service Pension Act 2013 applicable to England, Scotland and Wales related to how the Fire Service pension schemes should be administered and governed from 2015 onwards. The process will mean that each scheme will have a scheme advisory board and each employing authority will have a scheme manager and a scheme pension board.
The Act also places certain demands in relation to administration and governance including:
• That information is to be provided on scheme benefits and records.
• That members of boards have the knowledge and understanding of scheme rules and policies as well as pension law.
The Pensions Regulator has a part to play in this and will provide educational material and codes of practice to interested parties. The Pensions Regulator will also monitor and report on the performance of the schemes, ultimately enforcing compliance when necessary.
The (local) pension boards will have both employer and employee representatives in equal numbers to assist the local scheme manager.
Similar arrangements will be put in place for the (national level) scheme advisory boards which have certain duties including providing advice to the scheme managers or the scheme’s pension boards in relation to the effective and efficient administration and management of the scheme and any statutory pension scheme that is connected with it.
It is very important that the FBU is in a position to fully represent members on both of these boards and discussions are already underway looking at ways that this can be achieved.
This may require the union to appoint local officials to deal with these boards and to provide the necessary training to ensure they are in a position to undertake this role.
Unfortunately the issue of membership of the boards has already created some debate with other organisations within the Fire Service who feel that they should have exactly the same level of representation as the FBU (which represents the vast majority of the workforce and of scheme members). At one such discussion recently, a representative of the Fire Service employers expressed opinion on who should represent employees. Clearly the question of who represents employees is not a matter for employers. It is clearly a matter for those employees who are paying significant amounts of their salary in pension contributions. Employers will select their own representatives and that is a matter for them.
The National Fire Service Employers and DCLG have already been informed verbally that the FBU will not stand idly by and allow the boards to become hi-jacked by unrepresentative organisations.
The Executive Council will be discussing these issues at its next meeting on 9 April 2014 before this is publicly discussed at the Firefighters’ Pension Committee on 22 April 2014.
Members will appreciate the dangers of letting other organisations have any excessive influence in these types of situations and can be assured that the union will be doing everything in its power to ensure that this does not happen. Legal advice will be sought as necessary.
Best wishes.
Yours fraternally
MATT WRACK
GENERAL SECRETARY
