This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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NHS staff and teachers' pensions
14/02/2007
Reform of the Scottish NHS and teachers' pension schemes will safeguard the rights of existing members and deliver major long-term savings, it was announced today.
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform Tom McCabe was speaking following recent consultations on both the Scottish Teachers' and NHS pension schemes, in which the vast majority of responses supported the proposed reforms.
Mr McCabe, said:
"We have considered the consultation responses and will now be taking forward the proposed reforms. However, we will retain the facility to review future Scottish contribution levels if there is a substantial change in the financial circumstances of the scheme.
"We are committed to ensuring we have a cost-effective and sustainable way of ensuring that these pension schemes meet the needs of an increasingly diverse, modern workforce.
"The teachers and NHS pension reforms will retain a normal pension age of 60 for the vast majority of existing members of each scheme and a final salary pension for both existing and new NHS workers and teachers. New members will have a normal pension age of 65 to help deliver major long-term savings."
The two consultations ran from October 3, 2006 to January 5, 2007.
Summaries of consultation responses are available from the Scottish Public Pension Agency (SPPA) or on their website at www.sppa.gov.uk
The consultations included views from HM Treasury about setting future Scottish member contribution rates at the same level as those in England and Wales. This will be taken forward but would be subject to reassessment if the scheme valuations highlight difficulties relating to this mechanism or if total costs in Scotland vary by more than one per cent of pay from those in England and Wales.
The regulations to implement the changes to the Teachers' pension scheme will shortly be brought before the Scottish Parliament and will come into effect from April 1, 2007.
The changes to the NHS pension scheme will be subject to further detailed discussions and are planned to be implemented at the same time as those in England and Wales, expected to be in early 2008.