Local govt pension reversal likely?

[Pupp]

frothing yet?

[rs1952]

The article, as with the news item on Radio 4 this morning, is one big "if" an can be summarised in one sentence:

"If contributions rise employees might pull out of the pension scheme, and if that happens the funds will become unsustainable and will need bailing out"

Some people around here often fail to grasp that many public sector pension schemes are paid into by employees. They are not all non-contributory. These are the ones she is rabbiting about.

Where her argument falls flat on its arse is that we are talking about final salary schemes here, an endangered species. Somebody who by choice pulls out of a final salary scheme in order to take pot luck with one of the commerical pension products on offer elsewhere is a little short in the brain cell department.

[Ozzie Osmond]

rs1952 said:

Somebody who by choice pulls out of a final salary scheme in order to take pot luck with one of the commerical pension products on offer elsewhere is a little short in the brain cell department.

Indeed. The reports made no sense at all. So long as scheme membership pulls a contribution from the employer (frankly any contribution at all) leaving the scheme is just cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I'm sure our policemen, firemen and nurses are all wonderful people but at the end of the day how can the public sector go on providing a form of pension which, whilst admirable, is considered "unaffordable" in the private sector?