Using the UNISON online pensions calculators in Havering

UNISON has now published Local Government pensions calculators on the national union website. There are two calculators, one which shows how much more we will be asked to pay up front if the Government get there way – and another which shows how much our pension will be reduced by and how we will have to work longer to get that pension.

 

Right now there are two different options proposed by the Government, and two options put forward by the Local Government Employers.

There are also further changes planned for the future of the scheme and there are a range of proposed "accrual rates"

The calculators offer you choices about these things so that you can see the full range of possible changes to your pension contributions and your pensions.

It is well worth spending 5 minutes clicking through to work out how much you'll lose - once you have done this please also encourage workmates to do it, or perhaps a group of you could do it together in your lunch hour.
 
Nationally in local governement people work a 37 hour week but in Havering (and most of London) the hours are 36.

This does not matter if your full time just leave the calculator on its default setting of 37 hours.

 

If you work part time – instead of entering the number of hours you actually work each week you need to divide that figure by 35 and then multiply it by 36 (or, which is easier, multiply by 1.029).

So if you work 18 hours then enter 18 x 1.029 = 18.5, or if you work 25 hours then enter 25 x 1.029 = 25.7. If you work 28.8 hours/ 4 days (like me) enter 28.8 x 1.029 = 29.6.

For schools or If you work term time only then you need to calculate your hours over a whole year to work out what proportion of a year of pensionable service you earn for each of your working years - myself and Dave Thomas will work some examples out for schools for when we start our tour of Havering Schools next week.

Here are the links to the national calculators again;

How much more you will pay

How much less you will get

Online Pension Calculator - more reasons to vote "YES"

The TUC's Pension Justice website now hosts a basic pension calculator to show members of the big public sector pension schemes just how much we stand to lose if the Government get away with their attack on our pensions. It is online at http://pensionsjustice.org.uk/pensions-changes-calculator/

UNISON will shortly publish a detailed calculator reflecting the detail of the two different Government options - and the separate proposals from the Local Government Employers. In the mean time we can use the Pensions Justice Calculator to persuade any waverers to vote "YES"!
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Health workers organising for strike action on N30

The website of UNISON's East London Mental Health branch (http://www.eastlondonmentalhealth.com/) is a showcase for an organising approach to mobilising for a "YES" vote for strike action in the dispute over pensions.

It sets out clearly the impact on members of the Government's cash grab from the NHS Pension Scheme and makes a clear cut call for action.

Similarly, the London Ambulance Service branch website (http://www.lasunison.com/) sends an unequivocal message with Branch Secretary (and NEC member) Eric Roberts offering a pensions history lesson which goes back further than anything I've read (http://ericsblog.lasunison.eu/?p=828).

The Haringey Health branch meanwhile provide excellent links to the pensions campaign information on the national website (http://www.unisonharingeyhealth.co.uk/).

Our members in health haven't seen a national dispute on this scale in a generation - but then the living standards of health service workers haven't faced such an assault for even longer.

The pensions dispute hits UNISON members in all our service groups and is an opportunity for us all to help and support each other as we work together to support our Union as it prepares for our biggest strike and greatest challenge. My branch has offered help to the local health branch and I hope everyone else is doing the same.
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Barnet Strikes Back!

Good luck to members of Barnet UNISON taking strike action today in their continuing dispute about the identity of their employer (http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/?q=node/704).

With characteristic imagination, Barnet branch members are putting an additional demand on the Council in connection with today's strike. At 10.30 am a number of strikers will be taking a coach trip across the borough in order to provide help and assistance to a local charity which is in desperate need of help. The strikers will spend the rest of the day carrying a number of tasks for the charity.

UNISON members are calling on the Leader of Barnet Council not to pocket the money he has saved from the strikers and instead donate that money to the Mayor's Charity. Let's see how Barnet's Tory privatisers respond to that!
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