Hutton report urges radical overhaul of public sector pensions

A new report, recommending that those in the public sector work longer for lower pensions, is to be published today.

The independent review, conducted by Labour peer Lord Hutton, says that public sector pensions should not be related to final salaries and instead, by 2015, should be related to average salaries over a career. While those in the fire service, police and the armed services are currently able to retire early because of the physical nature of their job, Lord Hutton intends for this to change, saying that although their special status should be respected, it is no longer appropriate for pensions to be paid in early middle age and that by 2015 they should not be able to retire until they reach the age of 60.

The government has been told to expect an “exodus” of public sector workers, currently in their fifties, leaving now rather than facing the prospect of working for possibly 15 years longer than they had anticipated. A spokesman for the British Medical Association said that there was a real risk of doctors, many eligible for voluntary early retirement, reconsidering their futures in the light of Lord Hutton’s plans.

The unions have reacted with fury to the proposals. Brian Strutton, national officer of the GMB, said that the peer had wasted a chance to ensure that low paid public sector workers had good quality, affordable pension schemes. He added: “Many of his conclusions are questionable and will infuriate public sector workers. It’s not cogent enough to be a blueprint for reform but it might well light the blue touch paper for industrial action.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/mar/10/pension-reforms-public-sector-hutton