Sometimes PCS members approaching retirement worry about the effect upon
their pensions of taking strike action, especially in their final year,
pointing out that the pension is based on the best of the last 3 years of
service. As your pension has to last you
for the rest of your life, this concern is quite understandable. However, PCS in the NW has looked into the
matter and can confirm that this is a needless worry.
Firstly, the effect of a strike on your pension is identical whether
that strike took place 35 years ago or last week. This is because your pension is calculated on
your gross salary, which does not reduce because you have been on strike.
The other part of the pension calculation is the total number of days
you will have worked for the department when you leave. Common sense tells us that one day is a
minuscule percentage of the total.
To get a good idea of the effect of a one-day strike on your pension,
simply divide your gross salary by 292. This will give the yearly loss in pence (before tax).
For example, an EO earning £23510, divided by 292 = 80.5p a year,
or 1.5p per week, before tax.
The effect on part-time or part year workers is not quite so easy to
calculate, but even if you use the full-time equivalent of your salary, you
will see the figure is negligible.
For convenience, here is a ready reckoner:
Gross salary
|
Loss in pence per year
(before tax)
|
£10,000
|
34.2p
|
£11,000
|
37.7p
|
£12,000
|
41.1p
|
£13,000
|
44.5p
|
£14,000
|
47.9p
|
£15,000
|
51.3p
|
£16,000
|
54.8p
|
£17,000
|
58.2p
|
£18,000
|
61.6p
|
£19,000
|
65.1p
|
£20,000
|
68.5p
|
£21,000
|
71.9p
|
£22,000
|
75.3p
|
£23,000
|
78.8p
|
£24,000
|
82.2p
|
£25,000
|
85.6p
|
Conclusion
PCS members who are heading towards the end
of their career need not worry about the effects of a strike on their pensions,
as the loss will be a couple of pence per month.
Members close to retirement may be worried about the impact on their lump sum. We believe the financial impact would also be minimal. If the employer threatens to withhold this payment (where they have made the offer in writing) PCS will support members who wish to challenge this. It may very well be an idle threat given the deductions from pay of over 80,000 members of staff to process!
We hope this puts your mind at rest, and confirms
that you can easily afford to support the PCS campaign for jobs, services and
pensions, no matter how close you are to leaving. Don’t forget that you will still have a
vested interest in the outcome ~ at some point after you retire you’ll need the
services that PCS members provide.
