Two more reasons to VOTE YES to defend your pension

1) MPs agree - they CAN afford to pay our pensions - VOTE YES

A House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts report "The impact of the 2007 -2008 changes to public service pensions" confirms what unions have been saying - that  there is no need for teachers to be paying in more for their pensions.

The Report says that: "Government projections suggest that the 2007-08 changes are likely to reduce costs to taxpayers of the pension schemes by £67 billion over 50 years".

In an NUT press release, Christine Blower, NUT General Secretary, said;  “This report shatters the Government's case for further cuts in public sector pensions.  The Select Committee has confirmed the National Audit Office's verdict that costs are falling and pensions are affordable". 

“The Committee is right to criticise the Government for proposing further changes without even having considered what is affordable.  This is a policy based on nothing short of false assumption and spin”.

2) They want to destroy our pensions scheme - VOTE YES

The latest leaks about the Government’s plans for career-averages confirm that the NUT website’s pensions loss calculator figures - shocking as they are - are actually an UNDERESTIMATE of how badly we could all be hit:

This is what the government is now offering (thanks to Andrew Baisley in Camden NUT for the figures):

For a  newly-qualified teacher who goes into the profession at 23, doesn't take any promotions and retires at 65 on UPS3, the government say the average pay of a retiring teacher is £37,795 but their career average salary is £36,031. (Teachers who are promoted will lose even more.)

Current pension scheme for new entrants (1/60ths + normal retirement at 65)
Annual pension = £37,795 x 42 / 60 = £26,456
Government's best offer (Proposed worsening to 1/80ths + normal pension at 68)
Annual pension = £36,031 x 42 / 80 ‐ 16% (for retiring “ early” at 65) = £15,909
Government's worst offer (Worsened even more to 1/100ths + normal pension age at 68)
Annual pension = £36,031 x 42 / 100 ‐ 16% (for retiring “ early” at 65) = £12,727

In short: The government's best offer cuts our pension by 40%.   Their worst offer cuts our pension by 52%. 

VOTE YES!