UNISON Kent Branch: News

Pensions Calculator

There is now a handy LGPS pensions calculator on the UNISON website which shows how much more you will pay, how much longer you will work and how much pension you will lose under the current proposals.

Please go to:

www.unison.org.uk/pensions/yourpension.asp

Please encourage your colleagues to visit this site as well.

Public service pensions - why should you care?

Pensions have been hitting the headlines recently. The government is insisting that public service pensions need to be cut as they cost too much and the country can't afford them. If you don't work in public services, you might wonder why you should care.

It all sounds simples doesn't it? We can't afford to pay for these pensions so public service workers like street sweepers, school dinner staff and healthcare assistants need to accept that and work longer, pay more and get less.

But that isn't the whole picture.

The government is forcing people to pay 50% more in pension contributions. This means that many workers won't be able to stay in their pension schemes. And this extra money isn't being used to improve pension schemes for the future, it's going straight to the Treasury to pay for the bankers' crisis.

Is it fair

It is the bankers who caused the global financial crisis, so how is it fair to make low paid public service workers pay or it?

Bankers get bonuses while the rest of us get worse pensions. We believe that the financial sector should shoulder more of the costs of the recovery.

And what's happened to the pensions of people in private companies isn't fair either.

But you don't fix that by dragging everyone down to the lowest common level. We need to improve the bad schemes, rather than making existing ones worse. That's the fair way to do it.

Everyone - whether they work in the public or private sector - deserves a decent pension when they retire. Surely it's better for people to pay part of their wages into their pension scheme while they are working so they don't need to claim benefits when they stop - benefits that will end up being paid for by taxpayers.

Are our pensions too high?

The average pension for local government workers is around £4000 a year and it's £7000 a year for NHS workers - an most women get even less.

And let's not forget that our members pay a significant part of their salary into their pension schemes.

Schemes that were renegotiated with government five years ago to make them affordable and fair to public service workers and taxpayers alike.

What sort of society do we want?

We believe that the UK needs quality local services like education, health, and care to be provided by well trained, motivated staff. To keep the best staff doing these vital jobs, we need to offer a fair pension. If you believe in quality public services, you shouldn't settle for less.

Support our campaign at www.unison.org.uk/million and leave a message of support for public service workers who are being asked to pay more, work longer and get less.

To find out more about public sector pensions go to www.unison.org.uk/pensions/protectour.asp

Your pension is under attack join UNISON and defend it

Do you want to pay more for your pension while getting less and working longer?

Do you think it's fair that the government plans to take nearly £4 billion out of your pension schemes to pay for the crisis caused by fat-cat bankers?

No? Then join UNISON and help us fight for a fair deal on public sector pensions. UNISON believes that the government is making an unfair attack on the pensions of hard-working people - and that includes you.

That's why we've launched our Protect our Pensions campaign. But we need as many public sector workers as possible to join us. The more members we have, the stronger our voice. Join today be part of a union that's fighting for your future.

Why you need to join the fight

Pay more

The government is planning to increase your pension contributions by at least 50%. Why? To make up for the £3.8 billion it plans to take out of your pension schemes to help pay off the money used to bail out the banks.

Get less

Not only will you pay more - the amount you get for your pension each month will be cut by 15%. This is because pensions will no longer go up in line with the true cost of living - the Retail Price Index. Instead the Government will use the Conusmer Price Index to measure pension increases.

This change will take £84 billion out of our pensions over the next 15 years

Work longer

The government wants you to work until you're 68, instead of 65, before you can claim your hard earned pension.

www.unison.org.uk/protectourpensio

Change of personal details..

Just a reminder to let you know that you must inform the Branch Office of any changes to your personal details. For instance:- name, address, employer or workplace address. Similarly, even if you move but still have the same employer you should let the Branch Office know in order that we can advise your payroll departments of this change so that your UNISON subscriptions continue to be deducted from your salary.

Get your colleagues to join

We continue to get an influx of staff asking to join and wanting representation immediately, sometimes on issues that have been on-going for many years. UNISON rules, made by our members, state that someone must be a member for 4 weeks to receive full services and that is only fair. Where we used to give leeway, the delays in payrolls meant that the person had good representation but made little or no contribution at all if they were dismissed or left. An exception, agreed recently, will be made for equal pay cases, but generally the answer is sorry, no. Please pass this onto your colleagues and make them aware of our new website where they can download an application form and send it to us. Otherwise they can contact the Branch Office on 01622 694052 for an application form.

Kent Branch Retired Members

If you are about to reach retirement age you are invited to become a member of the Branch Retired Members Group. This would entitle you to the following benefits:- * Thompson's Solicitors - free legal advice, wills and discount conveyancing; * UNISON Holiday Club - discounts on holiday bookings/ Croyde Bay Holiday Village * Britannia Rescue - road rescue service * Vision Express - substantial savings on eye care. By joining the retired section of your Branch you can keep in touch with your former colleagues who are also retired, or if you are moving away when retiring, you can join the retired members section of your nearest branch. The joining fee is a one-off payment of £15. Please contact the Branch Office for an application form on 01622 694052

Recruiting New Stewards

We are looking to recruit new Stewards to represent our members. We will give you accredited training in all aspects of representation including disciplinary and grievance procedures, health and safety and much more. If you are interested then please contact the UNISON Branch office on 01622 694052 or unison@kent.gov.uk