Circular 53.14
Defence Police Federation
Guidance to members: Engagement with MPs on MDP pensions
Introduction
The purpose of this circular is to brief DPF members on the current status of the Federation’s negotiations with the MoD on officers’ pensions and retirement ages – and to encourage members to contact their local MP to alert them to the issue and request action.
This circular includes a template letter for members’ use. We recommend that officers use this template as much as possible to ensure their correspondence falls within MDP regulations. We must also remind members that any correspondence they send to their MP is subject to regulations.
Why contact your local MP?
The DPF has been negotiating with the MoD on the subject of officers’ pensions for more than 12 months and first raised the issue more than two years ago.
We believe that the MoD understands the DPF’s case that officers should not be subject to the State Pension Age. However, as we have repeatedly explained to the MoD, a solution must be in place before the switch to the new Civil Service Pension Scheme in April 2015. The Federation has engaged with the MoD in an open and transparent manner, while also complying with requests to conduct negotiations internally rather than highlighting the issue in the media and with parliamentarians.
With the implementation of the new Civil Service Pension Scheme fast approaching, we believe the MoD must be given greater impetus to act.
Background: MDP pensions and retirement ages
The MDP was excluded from the category of uniformed services in the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 that granted a Normal Pension Age of 60 to the Armed Forces, Home Office constabularies and Home Office firefighters. This exclusion was an error that has been publicly accepted by the architect of the Act, Lord Hutton.
The MoD was committed under the terms of the Act to undertake a review of MDP pension. This was published in December 2013 and was an unsatisfactory summary of MDP pension entitlement, without offering recommendations. The DPF has been in continual dialogue with the MoD to resolve the issue, which must be addressed by April 2015 for the public sector’s switch to the new Civil Service Pensions Scheme.
The DPF’s position
The DPF’s position is that it is unacceptable to expect officers to work to the age of 67 or potentially older. While this might be possible for individuals, for the majority there will be a cumulative impact on health and wellbeing caused by the physical demands of our work and the weight of equipment officers carry on a daily basis.
We accept that the financial constraints on the MoD mean that a pension age of 60 would be impossible to achieve without significant cost. We have therefore proposed a compromise, under which MDP officers would have an Enhanced Effective Pension Age of 65. The cost of lowering the retirement age to 65 would be met by the MoD. Officers would then have the right to make additional contributions (to offset the actuarial reductions applied) to reduce their pension age to 60 years. If we simply go for a pension age of 60, the Department will want an equitable contribution to that paid by our Home Office colleagues, which many Ministry of Defence Police officers could not afford.
How to contact your local MP
You can find out who your local MP is typing your postcode into the website www.theyworkforyou.com. We suggest sending contacting your MP via email rather than by post. Their email addresses can be found from their profile page on the Parliament website: http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/.
When emailing/writing to your MP, please ensure you include your name and address, along with the name of the establishment at which you are based.
If you have any queries, or require any assistance, please contact Rowan.Allport@whitehouseconsulting.co.uk.
Click here to download the template letter for members use – Thank you.
