Membership

National Membership

Membership of the Civil service Pensioners Alliance (CSPA) is open to pensioners who are in receipt of benefits from:- the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS),and its successors, or pension schemes analogous to the PCSPS and its successors operated by fringe bodies such as Research Councils, or by other Non-Departmental Public Bodies, or a pension scheme received as part of a TUPE transfer in the past.(e.g. Atomic Energy Authority to CEGB to NPower) or operated by a Civil Service trade union.

Membership is also open to active and former members of such pension schemes, who remain entitled to benefits and are within ten years of their pension age.

A member's spouse/partner or the surviving spouse/partner of a member may also join the Alliance.

Membership of the CSPA at National level is not open to anyone whose pension is or will be solely from an insurance /savings annuity scheme but we always welcome "Associate" members to our Group to receive our local 'Bristol Group' Newsletter which covers matters applicable to all pensioners.

For details on joining the CSPA see under Membership in the CSPA website at :- www.cspa.co.uk

To join our local group as an "Associate" please contact our our Secretary who will be pleased to advise you.

Alliance Aims

The aims of the Alliance both nationally and locally are:- To maintain and improve the purchasing power of all pensions from Civil Service and related schemes; To initiate and participate in action that will benefit pensioners; to promote the economic and social well-being of pensioners.

Local Membership

The membership fee for our local Bristol Group is to stay at last years suggested donation of £5 year and the membership year is from 1st May to end April the following year.

If you want to see what the Group is like, please come along to one of the Group meetings which are held in the Civil Service Sports Club, Filton Avenue, Horfield, Bristol.

Our Secretary,Treasurer / Membership Secretary will then speak to you about payment of the subscription to the Group.

We do realise that travel is difficult for some members, and therefore if you cannot get to Group meetings, we hope you may still feel able to support our efforts financially. Sending in a £5 subscription or any additional donation towards the costs of running Group and the Newsletters would be gratefully received.

The Membership Secretary’s name and address appears in each of the Group's printed Newsletters. Any cheque should be made payable to "Bristol Group CSPA".

Friends of members, or helpers from other pensioner organisations, may also join the Bristol Group as Associate members, but without national voting rights.

As a Member of the Local Group you will have:-

A Leaflet about Membership. Two or three Newsletters a year. Access to advice on Pension Matters. A chance to attend our Group Meetings and talks on matters of concern to Pensioners. The possibility of meeting old colleagues or other retired Civil Servants, and thus establishing new friendships and an opportunity to discuss, and influence, Alliance Policy as set down at the National AGM.

"Associate" members will receive all the above but will not have any voting rights at CSPA AGM etc.

Campaigning

The Alliance is a non-party-political organisation however we do campaign on behalf of pensioners generally such as State pensions, Over 75's TV Licence and long term care as well as our Civil Service retirement pension issues. The local Group carries out campaigning on matters of local interest, for instance making representations to MPs and local authorities about:-

Our Clinical Commissioning Groups and the NHS, Local Transport Services, Care Services for older people, Post Office Closures etc. Digital inclusion /exclusion and various other issues that particularly affect older persons.