Priority Order -Letter to Minister Nov 2013

RETIRED AVIATION STAFF ASSOCIATION

COMHLACHAS IAR-FHOIREANN EITILEORACHTA

A.L.S.A.A. COMPLEX, DUBLIN AIRPORT, IRELAND

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/retiredaviationstaffassoc/

Ms Joan Burton, T.D. (by email)

Minister for Social Protection

Aras Mhic Diarmada

Store St

Dublin 1

26 November 2013

Dear Minister,

RASA, on behalf of its members, want to protest in the strongest manner on the recent new conditions outlined on the Priority Order for Pensions in Payment in the event of a restructuring of pensions or a wind up of the fund.

You, Minister, have taken on board the views of the conservative establishment to make life easier for them and to allow them in many cases to walk away from their pension responsibilities to their members. I refer to employers’ organisation IBEC, Trade Unions and the Pension Industry. These can now walk away. All they have to do is to restructure the pension fund.

Who asked the pensioners for their opinion? Who represented them at your table? Did they not have a right of audience? It may have seemed all right for Trade Unions, Trustees, LRC, Labour Court and you, Minister, to ignore pensioners because their pension could not be touched. This is not now the case. Are you serious about looking after pension members or the business elite? Pensioners must have a seat at the table.

Pensioners have had their pensions reduced by the imposition of the Pension Levy, together with reduction in Household Package, Medical Card and the imposition Property and Water Taxes and now this!

The Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013 proposes to use a crude flat percentage reduction of Benefits in Defined Benefit schemes. It ignores how pensions are calculated. It does not provide for individual variation of age, pensionable service, contribution rates and other pension scheme anomalies.

The legislation does not recognise that the duration and length of time a person spends contributing to their pension scheme should be incorporated into a scale of protection instead of the absolute amount of pension being cut by a flat percentage. Remember the 64 year-old about to go on pension. They now carry the same levy as the youngest member.

The Bill allows employers off scot free. It makes no provision for funds from outside sources to restructure pension schemes. It puts no responsibility on solvent employers to be responsible and meet their commitments.

The Bill does not provide for individuals who are carrying a number of occupational pensions from schemes in deficit.

Finally, Minister, solvent firms cannot continue to be allowed to redefine Defined Benefit schemes to be Defined Contribution schemes by the introduction of a sleight of hand accountancy protocols.

We ask you to look again at the Bill.

Yours sincerely,

Arthur McSwiney

Chairman

Cc: (by email)

Mr Brian Duncan, Trustee, IASS

Mr Liam Berney, ICTU

Mr Micheál Martin TD

Senator Averil Power

Senator Darragh O’Brien