GMB Members area

  • Is your GMB profile up to date?
  • Give GMB your new address.
  • Be a Workplace Organiser?

PDF this page Print page

Pensions and Retirement

The pensions area of the website is maintained by GMB's Pensions Department in National Office. The Department stays abreast of developments from across the pensions arena and contributes industrially to employers, politically to policymakers and individually to members.

The website is intended to communicate the knowledge of the department and give details of our ongoing work to improve the pension conditions of all of our members. The links on the left of the screen will direct you to some of our key documents and give an overview of GMB's pension work.

The Current Pensions Landscape

State Pension

  • The Pensions Act 2007 indicates that the Basic State Pension age will increase from age 65 to age 68 between 2024 and 2046. We will oppose this change and promote policies that ensure increased life expectancy is shared by all.
  • The Act also indicated that a much needed boost will be given to the Basic State Pension, by increasing it each year in line with average earnings increases (rather than in line with price inflation). However we maintain that this improvement should be implemented without delay, to assist today's pensioners, rather than waiting until 2010.

 

Occupational Pensions

  • The Pensions Act 2008 introduced Personal Accounts, which are planned to become a minimum standard of occupational pension scheme to which employees and employers must contribute.
  • The Labour Government has introduced the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme, which operate to provide compensation to members of pension schemes which don't have enough money to pay full pensions and whose sponsoring employer has gone insolvent. We continue to push for full compensation for all affected members.

These changes come in a time when the cost of pensions are increasing and a general downturn in financial markets means that pension savings do not go as far as they would have done in the past. Further changes to the world of pensions may be forthcoming, but GMB will continue to act to ensure that our members get the best deal possible.

 

 

 

Bookmark and Share