We all care about our pensions, but to be honest, how they work leaves most of us cold. However, the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board is currently consulting employers and trade unions about changes to the structure of the fund.
Among the options is one to merge the 11 separate Scottish funds into one or more new funds. And what's more UNISON's own research reinforces the benefits of scale. A study commissioned from the Dutch pensions group APG (The Netherlands probably has the best pension system in the world), showed that a single fund in Scotland would have delivered an additional £830m p.a. Money not going into the pockets of fund managers, consultants and financial institutions!
In the current cuts driven setting that Angus Council sits in, these savings can also reduce pressure on public service spending, freeing up resources for jobs, services and pay. Every basis point (0.01%) shaved off costs equates to £3.5m.
Suffice to say, we've asked the 'Corporate Leadership Team' - Directors and Heads of Service to me and you - to join with us and back UNISON's support of the development of a single merged fund for Scotland. It makes total sense - all that money back into the Council to provide and develop essential services, keep jobs and pay us what we're worth!
We'll let you know when we hear back.
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