pensions
Articles about state and private pensions, pensioners and workers' struggles over retirement pensions.
Pensions relapse - companies close final salary schemes
Two FTSE 100 companies have followed the example of Rentokil in closing their final salary pension schemes, with another likely to follow.
Chiefs at the Co-operative group have expressed surprise as unions have threatened strike action after they announced the closure of their scheme.
The retail and banking group has said it will change the basis for payments on its pension scheme from 5th April to an average salary system rather than linking it to final-year pay.
Unions to 'step up' pension fight
Trades unions will need to "step up" their defence of pension schemes in the coming year, the TUC leader has said.
Brendan Barber said in his New Year message that tough choices were needed to deal with the "looming crisis".
He said Britain had gone backwards in its pension provision as some employers abandoned their responsibilities.
Mr Barber said only one in four private sector employees was now a member of a good occupational pension scheme and that the downward trend would continue.
NYC transport workers fighting cuts fined
A judge has imposed a $1m (£570,000) per day fine on New York's main transport union for a strike that has brought city transport to a standstill.
34,000 New York City transport workers are on an illegal strike, shutting down the entire city's transit system to oppose benefit cuts, despite large profits. Their Transport Workers Union is now being fined $1m per day that the strike continues.
From http://news.bbc.co.uk:
The 34,000 members of the Transport Workers Union went on strike after talks over their contracts collapsed.
British gas engineers out on strike
British Gas engineers are out on the first of five strikes to protest against the closure of the companies final salary pension scheme to new entrants.
Further 24 hours strikes are planned for 19 and 21 December, and 6 and 9 January, although the engineers have agreed to provide emergency coverage to vulnerable customers - they are front-line engineers who mend people's boilers.
6,000 workers are taking part, all of whom are GMB members.
Pensions - the misleading 85 rule
Over the last week, more divisive mis-representations from the government have appeared regarding public sector pensions.
They have attacked the '85' rule which they wish to see abolished. The rule states that where an employee's age plus his/her years of service is equal to, or greater than 85, then they are eligible to retire. The example given, by the government, is that of a person aged 60 with 25 years service retiring on full pension.
Marconi pensions - Adrift in the markets
In the first deal of its kind, a major pension scheme has been spun off from its parent company to make the business more attractive to investors.
A 75% majority of the telecom equipment maker firm Marconi has been sold to telecommunications giant Ericsson for £1.2bn. But the £2.5bn pension scheme has been 'ring fenced' and set up as a separate entity on the stock market, rebranded as Telent.
A fraught old age - the Turner Report and pension worries
The preliminary findings of the Turner report - a commission on pensions expected to be highly influential on future government policy - have recieved a mixed reaction after they were leaked ahead of their official release.
Controversial measures to increase the statutory retirement age to 67 for state pensions have angered unions, though parallel suggestions that companies should be forced to contribute more to the pensions pot have been well received.
The commission has also suggested that the later retirement date should be offset by a higher pensions rate - up from a basic rate of £80 to £109.
Unions back down, public sector workers split in pensions deal
The government has claimed a victory in the pensions crisis after they secured their target for total pensions savings up to 2055.
Negotiations between the Trade and industry Department and the Trades Union Council wound up last month after an agreement was reached that existing workers would be exempt from plans to raise the age of retirement and sever the link between pensions and final salaries.
Pensions measures' £1trillion shortfall
Companies could be liable for a pension bill of £1trillion, leading to costs well over the government's original estimates of £300million a year in contributions to keep its 'pensions lifeboat' afloat.
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which released the figures as part of its latest calculations on 12th July, said that the government's previous figures, based on estimates from December 2003, were outdated.
