Robin Hood in Reverse (2)
As the sabre rattling over public sector pensions continues I thought I'd publish a few earlier posts from the blog site - on the subject of 'final salary' pensions schemes.
The point is that low paid, front line workers normally don't benefit from these generous pension arrangements - which are almost exclusively reserved for senior and middle managers.
I was speaking to a reader from Glasgow the other day - who was sacked by the council for failing to return to work after being off work for a lengthy period - following treatment for cancer.
The council sacked the woman on the grounds of 'capability' - i.e. for being unable to return to her job and normal duties - - which sounds extremely harsh and unfair.
But she was also refused early retirement on medical grounds - which meant she could not access her accrued pension benefits.
The reader says she was not given any advice or support from her trade union.
Sadly, she was left to fend for herself as her sick pay ran out - and she was shown the door - despite all the difficult, surrounding circumstances.
"Robin Hood in Reverse (2)"
Here's a companion piece - Robin Hood in Reverse (2) - to my original post about why final salary pension schemes are such a rotten deal for the low paid.
The difference in treatment - between low paid and well paid groups of workers - is even more striking when it comes to early retirement and voluntary severance packages.
The reality is that the lower paid groups - such as carers, cooks, and classroom assistants - never don't qualify for such special treatment.
Oh no - they don't get added years and huge sums of money (on top of already high salaries) - to boost their pension pots!
Instead the lower paid groups get left out in the cold - and the system that allows this to happen is propped up by the unions - would you believe.
"Robin Hood in Reverse (2)"
"An interested reader has been in touch about the 'Robin Hood in Reverse' post - dated 22 June 2010.
While agreeing with the contents of the article - the reader goes on to ask about the many council officials who are allowed to leave the service - with a generous added years boost to their pension packages.
How come this only ever seems to apply to middle ranking and senior council officials - why do the lower paid groups never seem to get the benefit of added years? - the reader asks.
Good question.
I bet if you asked a Freedom of Information (FOI) question or three of Scotland's councils - along the following lines - you'd get a very interesting reply:
1 How many council staff have been allowed to leave in the 'interests of the efficiency of the service' in the past five years?
2 How much did this actually cost - in terms of added years and boosting people's pension benefits?
3 Of those who received enhanced pension benefits, how many earned more than £20,000 per year - and how many less than £20,000 per year?
Because the truth is that hardly any low paid workers are amongst those allowed to leave their council's service - on these generous, enhanced terms.
Such benefits are reserved for the higher paid groups - who already do much better than their low paid colleagues - from the final salary pension scheme.
Yet another illustration of how the local government pension scheme is a fine example of Robin Hood in Reverse - because the lower paid end up subsidising the much higher paid."
The point is that low paid, front line workers normally don't benefit from these generous pension arrangements - which are almost exclusively reserved for senior and middle managers.
I was speaking to a reader from Glasgow the other day - who was sacked by the council for failing to return to work after being off work for a lengthy period - following treatment for cancer.
The council sacked the woman on the grounds of 'capability' - i.e. for being unable to return to her job and normal duties - - which sounds extremely harsh and unfair.
But she was also refused early retirement on medical grounds - which meant she could not access her accrued pension benefits.
The reader says she was not given any advice or support from her trade union.
Sadly, she was left to fend for herself as her sick pay ran out - and she was shown the door - despite all the difficult, surrounding circumstances.
"Robin Hood in Reverse (2)"
Here's a companion piece - Robin Hood in Reverse (2) - to my original post about why final salary pension schemes are such a rotten deal for the low paid.
The difference in treatment - between low paid and well paid groups of workers - is even more striking when it comes to early retirement and voluntary severance packages.
The reality is that the lower paid groups - such as carers, cooks, and classroom assistants - never don't qualify for such special treatment.
Oh no - they don't get added years and huge sums of money (on top of already high salaries) - to boost their pension pots!
Instead the lower paid groups get left out in the cold - and the system that allows this to happen is propped up by the unions - would you believe.
"Robin Hood in Reverse (2)"
"An interested reader has been in touch about the 'Robin Hood in Reverse' post - dated 22 June 2010.
While agreeing with the contents of the article - the reader goes on to ask about the many council officials who are allowed to leave the service - with a generous added years boost to their pension packages.
How come this only ever seems to apply to middle ranking and senior council officials - why do the lower paid groups never seem to get the benefit of added years? - the reader asks.
Good question.
I bet if you asked a Freedom of Information (FOI) question or three of Scotland's councils - along the following lines - you'd get a very interesting reply:
1 How many council staff have been allowed to leave in the 'interests of the efficiency of the service' in the past five years?
2 How much did this actually cost - in terms of added years and boosting people's pension benefits?
3 Of those who received enhanced pension benefits, how many earned more than £20,000 per year - and how many less than £20,000 per year?
Because the truth is that hardly any low paid workers are amongst those allowed to leave their council's service - on these generous, enhanced terms.
Such benefits are reserved for the higher paid groups - who already do much better than their low paid colleagues - from the final salary pension scheme.
Yet another illustration of how the local government pension scheme is a fine example of Robin Hood in Reverse - because the lower paid end up subsidising the much higher paid."
