15 August 2007
Public sector union Unison has backed a campaign to extend Rule
of 85 protection until 2020. Under the old Local Government Pension
Scheme, the Rule of 85 allowed members whose age and years of
service added up to 85 to retire from age 60 with no pension
loss.
The new pension scheme does not include this rule, which Unison
overwhelmingly backed and protection for those who qualified under
the old scheme is currently tapered for those who reach age 60 from
April 2016.
Unison said other public sector schemes had offered full
protection to existing members and there were fully justifiable
labour market and employment reasons to extend full protection
until 2020.
In Scotland, eligible members already enjoy full protection and
Northern Ireland regulations are expected to include it, leaving
workers in England and Wales without it for the time being.
The government has started formal consultation on this issue,
with a 1 October deadline for responses.
