Jonathan Baume, FDA general secretary, said: "As we had feared, the pensions misery is being spread across all five million workers in the public sector.
"[Monday's] announcement confirms that the NHS will move to a pension age of 65 and promote a switch to an inferior pension scheme similar to that proposed last month for the civil service.
"However, we praise NHS employers for the honesty of their consultation document which confirms the FDA’s fears over the impact of ‘career average’ schemes and admits that they only offer improvements for some at the expense of others in the same scheme.
"As it states in paragraph 8.17 of the consultation document, CARE [career average] schemes, if properly designed and funded, benefit those with flat career structures. However, compared with final salary schemes, they do this by taking away benefits from those with better career progression.
"We will be responding to these reviews in due course. In the meantime, we believe that these changes are unjustified, unnecessary and unacceptable, and amount to nothing less than a tax on performance."
Stakeholder Response: GMB
Sharon Holder, GMB national officer for health, said : "GMB welcomes a consultation document that has been produced in partnership between the NHS Employers and the joint NHS Unions. However, there is still much to be agreed between the two sides. GMB will not endorse any moves that reduce the pension benefits of our members. GMB members particularly value the continued opportunity to leave employment at 60 and, in some cases, it is a physical necessity for people in demanding roles. We will continue to resist Government policy regarding an increase in the pension age, and work with other Trade Unions across the public sector to protect our members’ interests."
