Fire brigades union wins pension case

[bill.advanced]

Bill if this is the case, what was the point of going to court if the courts will not force the employers to pay FF the pension the court ruling says they are entitled too.

Stressed if they had not went to the courts Chris and many others would not be entitled to the improvements that will be paid to them eventually. I know it’s an injustice that Chris is not currently receiving what was agreed, but as far as I can see the government are not in breech of the judgment handed down by the courts, hence I see no avenue for legal recourse.
As we seen from our case involving commutation from when the ombudsman handed down his decision it took over a year for us to be paid out. But the most important thing is Chris will eventually be fully compensated, and without the court action, he and others would not.

[Stressed]

This is so frustrating. I know I am fortunate that I have my pension (apart from the LSI pension contributions I made THANKS RUTH *****)
One friend is at least £30k short in his lump sum and £150/month on his pension. Others are on an even worse position. This friend joined the LFB on the same days as his brother, same squad. They retired at the same rank but with the differences stated above just because one was younger than the other. Criminal!

[bill.advanced]

This is so frustrating. I know I am fortunate that I have my pension (apart from the LSI pension contributions I made THANKS RUTH *****)
One friend is at least £30k short in his lump sum and £150/month on his pension. Others are on an even worse position. This friend joined the LFB on the same days as his brother, same squad. They retired at the same rank but with the differences stated above just because one was younger than the other. Criminal!

I fully understand the frustration, but I try to look on the positive side stressed.
NN was taunted on here by some when he stated years ago that the fire brigades union had a case. Hardly anyone gave them a chance of winning this case. Well NN was proven correct, and the fire brigades union won a case that will enhance the retirements of many members. Yes the wait is frustrating, but they will eventually be fully compensated including interest. If you ask me who I feel most sympathy for it’s widows and dependents of ffs, who are not included within this “arrangement”, and will have to wait until after October 2023, there’s still a possibility that the LFB will cough up.

[He's Spartacus!]

ChrisW, I'm in the same position as you, I retired just over a year ago, our brigade said they were going to follow the MOU and pay what was owed, but then a spanner was thrown in the works when, I think it was the Home Office, said due to the complications with tax, not to process these claims. Still waiting to hear from the Brigade.

[bill.advanced]

ChrisW, I'm in the same position as you, I retired just over a year ago, our brigade said they were going to follow the MOU and pay what was owed, but then a spanner was thrown in the works when, I think it was the Home Office, said due to the complications with tax, not to process these claims. Still waiting to hear from the Brigade.

It’s strange why the fire brigades union have not at least reported on this Spartacus. Surely when the MOU was drawn up these tax considerations would/should have been taken into consideration. I hope you get sorted out sooner than later, and I hope you are enjoying retirement.

[He's Spartacus!]

The union has briefly mentioned this, on their website there's 2 circulars dated 22 nov and 30 nov which explains the withdrawal of the advice to process claims. I can't now see it being sorted before that date in 2023 unfortunately.
Enjoying retirement thanks bill, still can't believe its happened!

[bill.advanced]

The union has briefly mentioned this, on their website there's 2 circulars dated 22 nov and 30 nov which explains the withdrawal of the advice to process claims. I can't now see it being sorted before that date in 2023 unfortunately.
Enjoying retirement thanks bill, still can't believe its happened!

Well thanks for the update, be patient, just think of all that back money coming your way eventually.

[notnarcissus]

The union has briefly mentioned this, on their website there's 2 circulars dated 22 nov and 30 nov which explains the withdrawal of the advice to process claims. I can't now see it being sorted before that date in 2023 unfortunately.
Enjoying retirement thanks bill, still can't believe its happened!

There's an 18 month period between April 2022 and October 2023, if this isn't resolved quickly then the FBU will be suing ALL fire authorities who do not pay out the correct pensions. The FBU have already settled out of court with Notts. and London, this precipitated the MOU, I expect there will be no out of court settlements in the next round of legal action.

I think the pause in FBU comms. on this matter was due to reasonable expectations that this would be swiftly resolved. I think the next pensions circular specifically about this issue will detail resolution or legal action. This hypothetical circular could come as soon as next week, I really don't know, but it could be as late as March. The speculation is purely my own but what I'm saying is that I believe it will be resolved by April 2022.

[bill.advanced]

There's an 18 month period between April 2022 and October 2023, if this isn't resolved quickly then the FBU will be suing ALL fire authorities who do not pay out the correct pensions. The FBU have already settled out of court with Notts. and London, this precipitated the MOU, I expect there will be no out of court settlements in the next round of legal action.

I think the pause in FBU comms. on this matter was due to reasonable expectations that this would be swiftly resolved. I think the next pensions circular specifically about this issue will detail resolution or legal action. This hypothetical circular could come as soon as next week, I really don't know, but it could be as late as March. The speculation is purely my own but what I'm saying is that I believe it will be resolved by April 2022.

NN are you stating that the current situation regarding the implementation in October 2023, and current delays in payments fall outwith the legal judgement handed down by the courts. Did the final judgment specify an acceptable time period for payment.

[notnarcissus]

NN are you stating that the current situation regarding the implementation in October 2023, and current delays in payments fall outwith the legal judgement handed down by the courts. Did the final judgment specify an acceptable time period for payment.

The fire authorities settled out of court because they would have lost and the FBU allowed this because it believed that it would be precedent enough and that in itself led to the MOU. It seems those CFOs did not learn their lesson, I'm looking at LFB. It's only a matter of time before those fire authorities climb down or the FBU starts selecting who to sue next. The FBU cannot lose this legal action due to the transition arrangements implemented between 1st April 2015 til 31st March 2022 have already been deemed age discriminatory (20th Dec 2018) and are, therefore, illegal. Any Judge hearing these cases will not care about tax issues or whether the Government have legislated or not, the transition arrangements are illegal and must be remedied.