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Northern Ireland Civil Service Pensions To Rise

Although the Government had confirmed, some months ago, that Civil Service Pensions in Great Britain would rise by 6.7% from April this did not automatically apply to Northern Ireland Civil Service Retirees because there is a different approval process to allow Pensions to be increased. The CSPA NI wrote to Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance Civil Service Pensions Branch re the matter. CSPA NI Secretary, Tony McMullan, confirmed that he received a reply to his correspondence, yesterday, confirming that Northern Ireland Civil Service Pensions would increase by 6.7% from 8th April 2024. (See Link Below)

https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/publications/epn-04-2024-pensions-increase-review-order-ni-2024

2024 Annual General Meeting

As a member-focused organisation, there is nothing more important to us than providing members with the chance to hear what their elected committee has tried to achieve for them over the past year and to give members an opportunity to decide on the priorities for the year ahead.

Last year, we had our 70th anniversary AGM in the beautiful surroundings of Belfast City Hall (pictured above right). This year it will be held in the Long Gallery at Stormont on Wednesday 24 April at 2pm. A hot buffet, sandwiches, tray bakes and tea and coffee will
be served from 1.30pm, and free car parking will be available in the Stormont car park.

The re-establishment of the Assembly means enhanced security, so we need to provide the names of all members planning to attend the AGM to security staff at least three working days before the meeting.

Please register your intention to attend by emailing Tony McMullan at tony.mcmullan@outlook.com or calling 07902617095 no later than Friday 19 April.

The AGM will hear from Branch President Alastair Hunter, Chair Stan Blayney and Secretary Tony McMullan, who will present the
organisation’s annual report. Branch Treasurer Roisin Lilley will present the annual financial statement.

We are delighted to have two excellent keynote guest speakers – CSPA General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris and a representative from the Charity for Civil Servants. There will also be plenty of time for you to raise questions or express opinions. They are all highly valued.

Last year we recorded the best attendance numbers at an AGM for many years. Let’s improve on that again this year.

We really hope to see as many of you as possible in Stormont on 24 April. And please don’t forget to register your attendance intentions by 19 April. See you then!!

CSPA Free Webinar
Your Civil Service Pension: Changes Under the 2015 Remedy

Join the Civil Service Pensioners' Alliance and representatives from the UK Cabinet Office to be part of the consultation discussions for the 2015 Remedy (McCloud) over a webinar.

The webinar is taking place on Wednesday 29th November at 2:00 PM The format will be a short presentation followed by a Q&A, and the session will be chaired by Linda Ridgers-Waite, CSPA’s Chair.

Christine Haswell, Personal Pensions Cases Manager for the CSPA, and Stella Humphries, the 2015 Remedy Stakeholder Manager working with supporting Civil Service and Post Office Pensions for the Cabinet Office will give you information on the changes and answer questions you may have about the Remedy.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

2015 Remedy (McCloud Judgment): Response to public consultation

Earlier in the year the CSPA NI were happy to provide a platform on our Website for the Department of Finance’s Remedy Consultation on what is known as the McCloud Judgement. Now that the Consultation has closed and the Department has issued its findings we are happy to, once again, let Members have access to the Department’s Conclusions.

The Department of Finance Consultation on the Retrospective Remedy in relation to
work to remove the discrimination identified in the judgment known as “McCloud” has
now concluded. 98 responses were received from individuals and organisations,
including member representative bodies. The consultation response document
(linked below) provides an analysis of the responses received and the Department of
Finance’s approach to end the discrimination identified by the Court of Appeal in
2018. Having considered all responses, the Department of Finance will continue with
the proposed scheme amendments through a Statutory Rule. This will restore
eligible pension members with service between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 to a
position they would have been in had the discrimination not occurred, giving them a
choice of alpha or PCSPS(NI) benefits for 1 April 2015 - 31 March 2022.

You can find more information about the consultation and published response
documents at https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/consultations/nics-retrospective-remedy

Are you affected?

These changes apply to all eligible members with what is now being called
‘remediable service’ between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022.

There are about 40,000 affected members, of which there will be a mixture of active,
deferred, retired, and deceased members. You can find out if you are in scope for the
2015 Remedy (McCloud) by visiting the Civil Service Pensions (NI) website and
using the Am I Affected? tool.

More information about the 2015 Remedy can be found on the Civil Service
Pensions (NI) website.

Celebrating our 70th anniversary in Style!

The 70th anniversary of the creation of a Northern Ireland Civil

Service Pensioners Organisation was celebrated at the CSPA NI

AGM, held in the Banqueting Room of Belfast City Hall on 18th

April.

The Lord Mayor, Councillor Tina Black, welcomed more than 75

members to one of the best ever attended members meetings.

She praised the CSPA for its efforts in promoting and protecting

the interests of retired civil servants.

Branch President Ivan Baxter thanked the Lord Mayor for

attending, and the many members who had supported the CSPA

NI for more than 70 years.

Chair Alastair Hunter thanked all committee members who had

worked hard for members over the year, particularly over the

pensions overpayment issue.

Treasurer and Membership Secretary Roisin Lilley reported a slight dip in member levels, mostly due to deaths and concerns about the travel insurance scheme, but our membership figures were still higher than in Scotland, Wales and comparable regions of England. Roisin added that Branch finances were also in a healthy state.

Our first guest speaker, CSPA Deputy General Secretary David Luxton, applauded the Branch’s work on the triple-lock and pension overpayments, and reminded the meeting that the average value of civil service pensions was below the tax threshold of £12,000. David congratulated the CSPA NI on reaching 70.

Branch Secretary Tony McMullan presented his first annual report in office. He paid tribute to those who 70 years ago had set up a Civil Service Pensioners Organisation to try to raise pensions to a level they could never have imagined. He also thanked solicitor firm McCartan Turkington Breen for their new legal offer to CSPA NI members.

The second guest speaker was Stuart Pollard of u3a (University of the Third Age), set up in the 1980s to encourage those no longer in full-time employment to come together and continue learning. Stressing its non-religious and nonpolitical ethos, he said there were 24 u3a groups in Northern Ireland.

Finally, officers and committee were elected for the next year.

CPSA NI Officers at Meeting with Commissioner for Older People NI - Eddie Lynch

CSPA NI Secretary Tony McMullan (far left of photo) and Vice Chair Joan Moss (far right of photo) attended a meeting in Downpatrick, County Down, hosted by the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Older People Eddie Lynch. Beside Tony is the former NIPSA Deputy General Secretary, Kieran Bannon.

The meeting discussed a range of items of concern to Older People including ageism, The Triple Lock on Pensions, the impact of the Pandemic on Older People and the proposed changes to public transport concessionary fares.

Photo provided courtesy of Down News Ltd.

Defend Free Travel Passes

The CSPA NI Committee endorse the aims of the Defend Free Travel Passes Campaign & encourage members to support the Public Demonstration at Belfast City Hall on Saturday 19th August @ 1.00pm.

CSPA NI Welcome the High Court’s Decision on Healthcare Policy

The Secretary of the CSPA NI, Tony McMullan, has strongly welcomed the successful Judicial Review result which has quashed the way that Northern Ireland’s Department of Heath has interpreted the existing Healthcare Policy. Tony stressed how important the role of having a Commissioner for Older People is, saying, “Unfortunately there is no way this individual pensioner would have been able to take on the might of a Government Department. It is deeply regrettable that at his stage in his life he was forced to fund his own care when this should have been provided by the State. We hope that the Department will quickly bring forward proposals to implement a fair and comprehensive policy based on the rights of Older People."

To read more about the result, follow the link below:

https://www.copni.org/news/2023/july/commissioner-for-older-people-s-judicial-review-triumph-as-high-court-quashes-healthcare-policy

SMARTPASS Scheme Under Threat

The Department for Infrastructure (DFI) have, surprisingly, decided to announce a Consultation Exercise on the use of the current Concessionary Scheme which provides Older People with access to either the Smartpass, for 60-65 year olds or the Senior Smartpass for 65+.

The Department have launched the Public Consultation exercise because they claim the schemes are too popular and therefore too costly to run.

There are a range of alternatives set out as follows:

Keep the Current Provision
Change the Age Eligibility to 65
Link the Age Eligibility to the State Pension Age, currently 66 but will increase to 67 and then 68 in years to come.
Restrict the Concessionary Fares to Buses only. All Rail Travel by Older People would have to be paid for.
Restrict Concessionary Travel, for both Bus & Rail to Off Peak Travel only.
Apply Fees to Apply, Renew or Replace Concessionary Smartcards.

Your CSPA NI Committee have carefully scrutinised these options & are encouraging all members to reply to the Consultation Exercise by arguing for the retention of the current arrangements.

We recognise that most Retired Civil Servants are not on Huge Gold Plated Pensions, the view of some in the media. For many, the Smartcards provide a vital lifeline for people not just to travel to see friends and relatives but also attend vital business such as GP or Hospital appointments. We need to remember that not all Retired Civil Servants either Drive or have Access to a Car.

Many of our members live alone and the Smartpass Schemes give them the opportunity to get out and mix with other people. Many surveys have shown the need to tackle loneliness, particularly, for Older People. We do not believe that reducing people’s opportunities to travel is conducive with any loneliness strategy.

We also believe that the number of Older People using their Smartpasses keeps many Bus & Train routes viable. Without the continued support of Older People such routes would be cancelled & this would not only impact on Older People but Society as a whole.

The introduction of this Consultation Exercise is anti democratic. None of the Nine largest Political Parties (SinnFein, DUP, Alliance, UUP, SDLP, Green Party, TUV, People Before Profit or Aontu) who stood in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, just 14 months ago in May 2022, supported such a policy. Therefore there is no political legitimacy to such a policy.

We believe this attempt to take away the rights which Older People have paid for through their Taxes, many for nearly 50 years is unfair, unjust, unreasonable and undemocratic and we encourage members to respond to the Consultation.

The Closing Date for Responses to be sent to the Consultation is 5.00pm on Thursday 24th August. You can find out more information and respond here:

https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/news/consultation-northern-ireland-concessionary-fares-scheme-launched

New Legal Offer

Following discussions with one of Northern Ireland’s top legal firms, McCartan Turkington & Breen, a new Legal Offer has been secured, exclusively for CSPA NI Members.

The offer will give members the chance to obtain a free will and a free introductory telephone consultation (20/30 minutes) on any legal matter. After the free introductory telephone consultation the normal legal charges will apply.

In addition, the arrangement provides for CSPA NI Members to get discounted rates on Enduring Powers of Attorney and Estate Management.

In order to access any of these exclusive deals, members must contact Marie-Anne McVeigh at McCartan, Turkington & Breen through the various options (email, telephone or post) using the details listed in the leaflet.

This is another great deal which is open only to CSPA NI members!!

Age NI Lived Experience Survey 2023

Age NI previously requested the CSPA NI to encourage our members to complete their Lived Experience Survey 2023.

We were delighted to do that and encouraged as many CSPA NI members as possible to do so. The purpose of the Survey is to find out what is important to Older People now and to learn about their hopes & concerns for the future.

When the Survey Results are complete, Age NI will raise the issues that matter most to Older People with Northern Ireland Elected Representatives, Policy Makers & Decision Takers.

The Survey has three Thematic Points

Support
Health & Social Care
Communication & Connection.

The Survey closed on Friday 14th July and we will post the results when they become available.

2015 Remedy (McCloud Judgment): public consultation is open

The Department of Finance has opened a public consultation into proposed changes to the Northern Ireland Civil Service Pension Scheme as part of the 2015 Remedy (McCloud) programme.

The 2015 Remedy applies to members affected by the age discrimination legislation introduced by the 2015 public service pension scheme reforms. This is sometimes known as the McCloud judgment because their case was one of the first to conclude. The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on the draft pension scheme regulations and the policy that supports the regulations. The scheme will welcome responses to the consultation to help inform the final policy decisions.

The consultation document sets out how the regulations will work in practice and explains the remedy choices that members will have. It also covers the technical arrangements for returning all in-scope, active and deferred members of alpha between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) for the remedy period.

The consultation is an opportunity for scheme members, who will be affected by the remedy or any other interested individuals and organisations to comment on the draft proposals before they are made final. You can read and respond to the consultation here.

It is open until 02 June 2023.

Are you affected?

These changes apply to all eligible members with what is now being called ‘remediable service’ between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022. The remedy may impact the payment of benefits for remediable service already in payment, as well as benefits that will become payable in the future.

There are about 40,000 affected members, of which there will be a mixture of active, deferred, retired, and deceased members. You can find out if you are in scope for the 2015 Remedy (McCloud) by visiting the Civil Service Pensions (NI) website and using the Am I Affected? tool.

More information about the 2015 Remedy can be found on the Civil Service Pensions (NI) website.

Civil Service Pensions to rise by 10.1% from 10th April - And that’s Official!!

Official Confirmation that Northern Ireland Civil Servants will see their Pensions increase by the Triple Lock Formula, ie. 10.1% was contained in a letter sent to CSPA NI from Civil Service Pensions Branch (CSP).

Tony McMullan, CSPA NI Secretary quipped, "We’re very pleased to get the official confirmation. Although rumours were spreading like wildfire it was good to get official confirmation." He added that, "Although grateful to have that level of pension increase, the fact is that the rising inflation will devour the increase & members should not forget that in the country which the Government proudly boasts is the 6th richest economy in the world, we have a State Pension that is only ranked the 49th most generous pension paid in the World."

2015 Remedy (McCloud Judgment): public consultation is expected to be launched early April 2023

As part of the 2015 Remedy work for the Northern Ireland Civil Service, a public consultation is expected to be launched by the Department of Finance in early April 2023. The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on the draft pension scheme regulations and the policy that supports the regulations. The scheme will welcome responses to the consultation to help inform the final policy decisions.

The consultation document will set out how the regulations will work in practice and explain the remedy choices that members will have. It will also cover the technical arrangements for returning all in-scope, active and deferred members of alpha between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) for the remedy period. The consultation is an opportunity for scheme members, who will be affected by the remedy, or any other interested individuals and organisations, to comment on the draft proposals before they are made final.

There are about 40,000 affected members, of which there will be a mixture of active, deferred, retired, and deceased members. You can find out if you are in scope for the 2015 Remedy (McCloud) by visiting the Civil Service Pensions (NI) website and using the Am I Affected? tool.

More information about the 2015 Remedy can be found on the Civil Service Pensions (NI) website.

Pension Overpayments

CSPA NI have been informed by Civil Service Pension Branch (CSP) that there has unfortunately been some significant Overpayments of both Lump Sums & Pension Entitlement. CSP have also let us know that they have written out to all who have been affected.

If you have been one of the unfortunate pensioners to have received correspondence from CSP don’t try & deal with this on your own. Please contact our Branch Secretary Tony McMullan at tony.mcmullan@outlook.com & he will ensure that you get professional advice & support.

CSPA Northern Ireland 70th AGM

The NI Branch will be celebrating 70 years of CSPA in NI at the 2023 AGM, which will be held on TUESDAY 18 APRIL 2023 at 2.30pm in the BANQUETING ROOM of BELFAST CITY HALL. The LORD MAYOR OF BELFAST has been invited to open the proceedings. Please put this date in your diary now and join us in celebrating our special birthday. More details to follow.

Pension Increase Update

Whilst the Chancellor of the Exchequer did announce recently that the State Pension would increase in line with the Triple Lock on Pensions, no such announcement has yet be made on the level of increases to Civil Service pensions. It is the position that there is a Statutory Requirement under Section 59 & 59A of the Social Security Act 1975 for Civil Service Pensions, & indeed all other Public Sector

Pensions, to be increased by the same percentage as the State Pension. However there is a Government Announcement made each year on their intentions.

CSPA NI recently raised the matter with Civil Service Pensions Branch &, asking when the Government Announcement was expected & also pointing out that CSPA NI members were expecting the commitment to the outcome of the Triple Lock, 10.1%, to be awarded. In response CS Pensions advised that they expected a Government Announcement to be made, at broadly the same time as the announcement was made in 2022, which had been 8th March. They also indicated that their expectation was the same as our members.

CSPA NI Branch Secretary Tony McMullan said, “We & other Organisations strongly lobbied the Government to reinstate “The Triple Lock on Pensions", which the Government had set aside in 2022. This had led to every Pensioner losing, on average £500 a year, not just for last year but for every year moving forward. It is critical that the Government now honours the commitment it has made to ensure that both the State Pension & the Civil Service Pension, that many have worked so hard for, is protected by the ravages of the current high level of inflation by updating the Pensions in line with the Triple Lock, 10.1%.

Specsavers Savings!

In the Winter Edition of The Pensioner we announced that a special deal had been agreed between CSPA NI & Specsavers to provide members with a £20 Voucher to be used against any Specsavers Glasses in their £99 & above range. As of July 2023, 105 members have requested a Voucher, meaning that since the sceme launched in

November 2022, CSPA NI has saved members £2100!!

If you would like a voucher please contact our Northern Ireland Secretary, Tony McMullan @ tony.mcmullan@outlook.com

Protecting and Defending what you've Earned