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Fair cuts? The impact of British public service pension reform on workers in the main occupations

Fair cuts? The impact of British public service pension reform on workers in the main occupations
Fair cuts? The impact of British public service pension reform on workers in the main occupations
Public service pensions have been a fundamental component of the British pension system in the post-war period and recent reform initiatives have caused political controversy. This article assesses the impact of the Conservative/Liberal government's public sector pension reform plans of 2011 for different public sector workers. It simulates their projected pension outcomes, assuming people contribute to the new system throughout their working lives. In particular, we examine the government's claim that the move away from final to average salary schemes will make pensions fairer for women and lower paid workers. The article shows that the reforms are indeed fair, if measured by the government's standards: retirement is delayed for all, but the lowest skilled and women lose least and some even gain higher pensions without paying proportionately more. Despite austerity, recent British pension reforms reflect a greater awareness of social inequality than many would expect and they have been built on more cross-party agreement than apparent at first sight.
public service pension reform, UK, fairness, pension outcomes, average salary schemes
1474-7464
1-18
Bridgen, Paul
6a2060f6-cbab-47d4-a831-ff82350055c9
Meyer, Traute
ee469bf0-ab32-43ac-9f25-1261c24123fe
Bridgen, Paul
6a2060f6-cbab-47d4-a831-ff82350055c9
Meyer, Traute
ee469bf0-ab32-43ac-9f25-1261c24123fe

Bridgen, Paul and Meyer, Traute (2012) Fair cuts? The impact of British public service pension reform on workers in the main occupations. Social Policy and Society, 1-18. (doi:10.1017/S1474746412000541).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Public service pensions have been a fundamental component of the British pension system in the post-war period and recent reform initiatives have caused political controversy. This article assesses the impact of the Conservative/Liberal government's public sector pension reform plans of 2011 for different public sector workers. It simulates their projected pension outcomes, assuming people contribute to the new system throughout their working lives. In particular, we examine the government's claim that the move away from final to average salary schemes will make pensions fairer for women and lower paid workers. The article shows that the reforms are indeed fair, if measured by the government's standards: retirement is delayed for all, but the lowest skilled and women lose least and some even gain higher pensions without paying proportionately more. Despite austerity, recent British pension reforms reflect a greater awareness of social inequality than many would expect and they have been built on more cross-party agreement than apparent at first sight.

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More information

Published date: 22 October 2012
Keywords: public service pension reform, UK, fairness, pension outcomes, average salary schemes
Organisations: Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 344857
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/344857
ISSN: 1474-7464
PURE UUID: e8fc8c92-0a68-44d4-9624-db0dc1aae30b
ORCID for Paul Bridgen: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6039-3254
ORCID for Traute Meyer: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0767-8351

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 06 Nov 2012 12:35
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:06

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