pensions
Articles about state and private pensions, pensioners and workers' struggles over retirement pensions.
Public sector pensions
Factsheet about the issues around pensions for workers of public sector organisations.
A very different animal from private sector pensions, the public sector pension was set up to be effective immediately, and thus did not work on a pension pot principle.
Private sector pensions
Factsheet about the issues around pensions for workers of private sector companies.
Private sector pension schemes are usually run in larger companies, such as those in the FTSE 100 of Britain’s richest corporations.
Pensions crisis
An in-depth look at the pensions crisis currently hitting the UK, affecting pensions of both public and private sector workers.
What's the issue?
Pensions across both the public and private sectors are under attack, with increasingly strong measures being taken to try and reduce the amount paid to workers on retirement, and increase the amount of time spent at work before retirement is an option.
Who's affected?
Bosses' pensions boom
Company executives are receiving huge pension payouts while schemes for workers continue to be cut, states a report published today.
The Yorkshire post reported that bosses in the UK's top firms retire on at least 71 times the basic state pension for a married couple and can usually stop work at 60, researchers found.
A total of 112 company directors are currently entitled to a pension worth at least £200,000 a year, while 27 are in line for at least £500,000, said the Labour Research Department.
Pensions agreement torn up - unions slammed
Predictions that a compromise agreement used by union chiefs to stand down strike actions over government pensions would fuel futher attacks are to be dramatically fulfilled.
Leaked documents from Downing Street have proposed that Whitehall officials pay for at least half the cost of increases to pensions in the future. State contributions would be capped at 20%.
Rail workers may strike across the UK
Rail workers across the entire national network are preparing to strike over increases to employee pension contributions.
If the strike goes ahead it will be the first national shutdown of the rail network since 1926, involving tens of thousands of workers in every train operator, network rail and maintenance companies.
2003: Notes on the Movement in France - Struggles around pensions and education
Notes on the movements in France, June 2003
from http://www.endangeredphoenix.com/
Postmen chucking postbags at Nicolas Sarkozy, France's Minister Of The Interior, and President-in-waiting
Listen carefully - I will say this only once.
Pensions? What pensions? Legal battle with steel firm
Major legal battles have been taking place regarding private pension funds and the protections being offered to workers.
A case brought to the European court by unions Amicus and Community has had a major boost after the European Commission came out in support of their campaign to prove the government has failed to implement a directive which could have saved the pensions of over 1,000 steelworkers.
UK: 1 million workers strike to defend pensions
Tuesday 28th March 2006 saw over a million workers take part in the largest one day strike in Britain since the general strike of 1926.
Every town, borough and city in the country saw workers set up multiple picket lines to defend their pension rights.
1.5million set to strike today over pensions
Workers across more than nine different unions are set to strike today over an attack on the local government pension scheme, with the Labour government planning to increase the age workers can retire at.
You can read the background to the strike here on libcom.org news:
http://libcom.org/news/article.php/uk-pensions-strike-170306
You can also check out our new in-depth feature on the pensions crisis, currently under construction here:
http://libcom.org/pensions
libcom.org news
