- Conference
- 2003 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 1 December 2002
- Decision
- Carried
This conference notes the failure of successive Governments and NHS employers to introduce an early retirement position for frontline Ambulance staffs.
It notes that nearly 70 per cent of these staffs retire by the age of 55 because of work-associated ill health and burnout. Many of these staffs are incapable of finding alternative employment as a result.
This is a clear indication that voluntary retirement should be an option for Ambulance staffs as it is for other Emergency Service staffs.
Conference therefore calls for the Pensions Agency to be directed by Government to accelerate appropriate discussions as a matter of urgency.
These discussions to cover the following main alternative options:
1.A new pension scheme for Ambulance staffs with a voluntary early retirement age of 55, to reflect the Emergency Service nature of the job;
2.Remaining in the NHS pension scheme with a revised structure and approach to pension options, to allow benefits to be taken early at age 55 without actuarial reductions.
3.