Public sector retirement age 'will rise to 66' (In the United Kingdom, up from 60)

Source: AFP

LONDON (AFP) – The government Friday unveiled plans to raise the retirement age for most public sector workers by six years to 66 and make them pay more towards their pensions, provoking fury from trade unions. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, a senior minister in the finance ministry, warned state workers that it would be a "colossal mistake" to spurn the government's pensions deal.

"Our offer is by far the best that is likely to be on the table for years to come," he said in a speech in London. Alexander added that it was "unjustifiable to ask the taxpayer to work longer and pay more so that public sector workers can retire earlier and receive more themselves."

The issue is one of the main factors behind a planned strike by teachers and civil servants on June 30 which is expected to start a wave of industrial action. Friday's proposals sparked fresh tension between the public sector and the government, threatening to derail sensitive negotiations on pensions between officials and unions.

"If that's the government's position -- that they have decided what they want the answer to be -- then it is going to make it impossible for us to stay in these negotiations," said Brian Strutton of the GMB union, which represents workers across many sectors. Gail Cartmail, assistant general secretary at the major Unite union, said Alexander's intervention was "tantamount to bombing the talks."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110617/wl_uk_afp/britainfinanceeconomypensions_20110617175428

---

Thatcherism returns.

Maybe Britain has too many jobs. That would explain it. Everyone wants to drop in the traces. I love this world!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111

....:eyes:

What a fucking pillock....

Clegg forced a compromise to keep it at 66. I'm not saying it's good but Clegg did try to moderate the Conservatives.

It seems like they really are getting it worse over there. What is their population doing?

what do think the majority of the population should be doing ?

To give you a clue the chances are that the majority of the population are saying "tough"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13800573

I'm here and don't quite understand the chart. As far as I'm aware police can retire after 25 years service and local council workers retire at a far earlier date than 65 should they chose to do so.

And here too from 2009 : Cost of public sector pensions estimated at £1.2 trillion.

The true cost of pensions for all current public sector workers has been estimated at £1.2 trillion — equivalent to 85 per cent of Britain’s GDP and worth £20,000 for every man, woman and child in Britain.

According to the British-North American Committee , made up of academics and business leaders who publish a paper today, the Treasury is greatly understating the cost of providing gold-plated retirement schemes for public sector workers such as nurses, teachers, the police and Armed Forces.

The committee calculates that public sector pension costs, as a percentage of economic output, are three times higher than in Canada or the US.

Neil Record, a former Bank of England economist and pensions expert who helped to draft the report , warned that generations of future taxpayers would have to foot the bill. “Neither politicians, the Treasury, nor employees know what public pensions cost — or are worth — each year what the total future taxpayers’ pension liability is,” he said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/pensions/article6597719.ece

I'd recalled a friend retiring early but that was pre-2006. I think there was some connection in that particular instance which involved redundancy in some shape or form - early retirement may have been offered as an alternative.

... bringing public sector workers into line with everyone else
(said as a person whose retirement age has already been pushed
upwards by the state).

:shrug:

& take back the tax-payer money, with interest, break up the banking cartels

We are supposed to go to the knackers on our retirement date.