Date posted: 09/12/2004

Issue:

  • This EPN announces the beginning of a consultation process about proposed major changes to the Civil Service pension arrangements. This Notice contains important information that needs to be brought to the attention of all staff immediately

Action:

  • Issue the attached office notice (Annex A) to all staff.

Timing:

Immediate – employers should look to issue the office notice as soon as is practicable.

Background

  1. CSPD are putting forward proposals for changes to the Civil Service Pension arrangements. These changes will affect:
  • From 6 April 2006 – all staff who join on or after that date. As part of the consultation on the changes we are considering introducing some extra flexibilities to the current scheme (for example, the ability, in certain circumstances, to receive a pension while still working).
  • From 1 April 2013 – all staff who were in post on 5 April 2006 and who have remained in the Civil Service up to and including 1 April 2013.
  1. We outline our proposals in a document called ‘Building a sustainable future’. You can download this from our website. If you cannot access the website or would like a hard copy, please email your request to consultation2@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk or write to

Consultation
PO Box 8385
MANSFIELD
Notts
NG18 4WL
Fax 0870 2403035

Your action

  1. The office notice at Annex A should be sent to staff as soon as possible. If your staff do not have internet access, they will not be able to complete the Feedback form (see paragraph 9 below) online, and the office notice should make no reference to them being able to do so. Alternatively, if you have an intranet that is accessible to your staff, you could copy the documents for your staff to use from there. Please note that the on-line Feedback form cannot be submitted from your intranet – the links will not work. You should copy the ‘Word-format’ feedback form only.
  2. Annex B is a Q&A brief that addresses issues that you may have as employer, rather than as scheme member.
  3. Annex C is a fuller Q&A brief aimed at helping you to answer any queries members may raise with you. We will continue to update this on our website.
  4. We will consider providing magazine-style articles that you may use for in-house publications or your intranet when the consultation exercise is underway.

Consultation

  1. CSPD are entering into full consultation with the Civil Service Trade Unions. We are also actively seeking feedback from members and employing departments.
  2. The consultation period runs for 12 weeks. It will end on 4 March 2005.
  3. The office notice at Annex A explains how to give feedback on the proposals. We would like everyone who gives us their views to do so on the Feedback form that we have developed. The form is available electronically (the office notice gives details). We will include a hard copy of the form with any hard copies of ‘Building a sustainable future’ that we send out.
  4. The feedback form asks you to make clear whether any comments that you send us represent your views purely as a scheme member or whether you are responding on behalf of your organisation. Please ensure that you tick the correct box on the Feedback form.
  5. Given the expected level of response, we will not be able to acknowledge individual responses.

Material for visually impaired staff

  1. We can, if requested, provide suitably enhanced versions of both ‘Building a sustainable future’ and the Feedback form to any members who are visually impaired. If you need any copies of the material, please email ian.cameron@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk or write to

Consultation
Visually Impaired Material
Civil Service Pensions Division
Cabinet Office
8th Floor
Grosvenor House
Basing View
Basingstoke
Hants
RG 21 4HG

Code of Practice on Access to Government Information

  1. We will use any personal data that you supply on your Feedback form for the purposes of statistical analysis only. All information provided will be handled in accordance with the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts.

Pension age 65

  1. Under the proposals, new entrants from 6 April 2006 and all staff from 1 April 2013 (for service from that date) will have a pension age of 65. 'Pension age' is not the same as 'retirement age'. The proposed changes to the pension arrangements do not mean that you will have to alter the age at which you require your staff to retire.

Handling queries

  1. The Q&A briefing at Annex C will assist you in answering any questions put to you. If anyone raises a query about the proposals that ‘Building a sustainable future’ and the Q&A brief (including the updated version on our Website) do not cover, please email us at employerhelpdesk@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk. (Please do not give out the employer helpdesk email address or telephone numbers to members.) We will provide you with an answer and if appropriate add the query to the Q&A section on the Website. However, where someone raises a query about their personal circumstances you should direct them to your APAC.

Ready Reckoner on pension age

  1. Section 5 of ‘Building a sustainable future’ describes how the proposed changes may affect current staff who expect to remain in the Civil Service beyond 1 April 2013. They can check the possible effect of the proposed changes on their pension by using the ready reckoner that we are putting on our website. This will allow members to put in details of their own circumstances.

Follow up

  1. We will ask you to send a reminder to staff in February 2005. On completion of the consultation process, we will issue another office notice. This will sum up the outcomes of the consultation process and point the way forward. We will also put further details on our website.

Contacts:

Enquiries about content:

Employer Helpdesk
employerhelpdesk@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
01256 846414


Enquiries about distribution of EPNs:
Judith Hornby
judith.hornby@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
01256 846201

Attachments

Published:
9 December 2004
Last updated:
24 April 2023