Wednesday, 22 August 2012

Public Pensions – Armed forces forced to retire 5 years later…


News this week that Armed forces could see their pension age rise from 55 to 60 under new government plans, has caused concerns to army personnel. 

The proposed changes will affect all service personnel under the age of 45, this is part of the government shake up to reduce the cost of public pensions.

Currently the armed forces have two main pension sections, for those who started between 1975 and 2005 and those who joined after that date. However in both sections, the retirement age was 55.

The government has stated that pension rights accrued under the exiting schemes will be protected, and the unique early retirement feature of the scheme will also remain. This is in the form of a lower level pension, and a lump sum is paid to service personnel with at least 18 years service, aged 40 or over. The length of time in service will rise to 20 years.

David Marsh secretary of the FPS stated: "This will mainly affect officers who tend to join after university rather than the other ranks who join about the age of 20," said David Marsh, pensions secretary of the FPS.

However the rest of the public sector pension ages are going to rise from 65 to 68, in line with an increased life expectancy. 

If you are in the armed forces and are concerned about the amount of pensions you will receive then get in touch with one of our IFA's. 

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