Preparations for a public campaign – 68 is too late – linking changes to pension age with changes to public sector pension age are well advanced. The aim is for the campaign, being developed with Unite and the NUT, to be running when the government announces any legislative changes to pensions in the Queen’s Speech on 9 May.
PCS and other trade unions are campaigning for fair pensions for everyone – whether they are part of private or public sector schemes, or rely on the state pension. In the budget the government announced plans to introduce measures which will formally link the state pension age to increases in longevity. Current projections are that life expectancy will rise by 2.5 years every decade, meaning a child born today would only receive their state pension aged 74. The campaign will highlight that we could keep public sector pensions, make private sector employers provide proper schemes, and return the state pension to its value of 30 years ago – 25% of average male earnings. It will include a website which will host a video explaining the issues, an e-action and links to social media. The website also enables us to email our own members directly, involving them in the activity and collecting the emails of supporters to continue to involve them in the campaign
