LTB 001/17 Royal Mail Pension Consultation

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LTB 001/17 Royal Mail Pension Consultation

No. 001/2017

4th January 2017


TO: ALL BRANCHES WITH POSTAL MEMBERS




Dear Colleague,

Royal Mail Pension Consultation

Further to LTBs 390/2016 and 479/2016, I write to inform Branches that I believe the long anticipated Royal Mail consultation on their proposed closure of the RMPP DB scheme is imminent.

Colleagues will recall that the business wrote to all RMPP scheme members in June 2016 confirming their belief that the scheme cannot remain open to future accrual beyond March 2018. In order that the Company meets its responsibilities and obligations under the current regulatory and pension rules the decision on closure has to be made by March 2017.

To ensure the Company meets its obligations under pension rules, Royal Mail are required to undertake a 60 day consultation on their proposal to close the scheme. The Company therefore has no choice but to commence the consultation process so that a final decision can be in place by this year’s March deadline.

Royal Mail are also duty bound to ensure that the consultation is carried out in good faith, taking all responses into account and that the language of the consultation will not make employees feel that the proposals are fait accompli regardless of their views.

CWU Position

Branches will be aware that news of the pending consultation and the potential closure of the scheme were leaked to the press way before the Company wrote to the scheme’s members in June 2016. This act formed part of the much wider held suspicion that Royal Mail are moving away from the mutual interest commitments enshrined in our current National Agreements in favour of short term profits and shareholder appeasement.

As a consequence of these suspicions and the widely held view of activists that the Company were changing direction and moving away from the spirit of our agreements, a CWU Policy Forum was convened in March 2016 where Branches and the union’s Senior Field Officials set out the key objectives required to restore confidence that management are still committed to the spirit and intent of our Agreements.


There is no doubt that Branches and Representatives of all positions and the wider membership, are fully aware that our industry has never been under so much pressure with issues such as competition, regulation and new technology all intensifying at pace. The move on pensions, the desire to trial and use new technology which will impact on jobs and duty design and the incessant efficiency drive, dictates that the time is now right for us to negotiate a new Agreement with Royal Mail.

The key ‘Pillars of Security’ we need in order to restore our confidence in cooperation going forward are;

 An agreed solution to the pension situation which ensures that the pension promise and the principle of a ‘wage and dignity in retirement’ is in place for all our members in both the DB and DC schemes.

 An agreed commitment to and a timescale for a reduction in the current full-time 39hr week to 35hr gross.

 That the commitments and legally binding provisions of our current Agreements are reaffirmed and extended.

 That a new Pipeline/Workplan is agreed in line with our policies which reverses the trend for later and later delivery start times and enables Royal Mail to maximise the potential of our core USO delivery, offering to deliver new growth opportunities right across the day from 7am onwards.

Against that backdrop it needs to be understood that whilst pursuing our policies to secure and reach Agreement is our priority, the Postal Executive will not hesitate to enact our policy to ballot for industrial action if Royal Mail fail to reach Agreement with us or announce Executive Action on the closure of the DB pension scheme, the introduction of new technology or cost cutting efficiency initiatives that undermine both our current National Agreements and/or the terms and conditions of any CWU Grades within Royal Mail Group.

Clearly it is essential that Branches commence briefing their members on the content of this LTB with immediate effect. Equally, the Postal Department will, in conjunction with the CWU’s Communications Department, commence designing and developing communication strategies to ensure that our members fully understand both the policies and the direction we are taking in their interests.

Yours sincerely



Terry Pullinger
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

[RobertT]

The announcement has been made:

https://www.myroyalmail.com/news/2017/0 ... ion-review" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We are very sorry we have to write to you to say that we believe the Royal Mail Pension Plan (the Plan) will soon not be affordable. We know how important your pension benefits are to you.

We have worked very hard to keep the Plan open until at least March 2018. We are still confident that we can keep that commitment.

From today, Plan members will start to receive a consultation mailing at their home address. This sets out our proposal for the future of the Plan after March 2018 for consultation with all active members. Our proposal is designed so that your interests – and the Company’s – are at the heart of it.

The member-wide consultation has now begun and will end on 10 March 2017. We will feed the outcome of this phase back into our pension review process.

With our unions, we have been exploring other ways to keep the Plan open on a Defined Benefit basis after March 2018, as part of our pension review process. Unfortunately, we have not been able to find an affordable way of doing this so far.

We believe our proposal, if implemented, would be a fair outcome for members. It would:

be a very competitive pension package compared to our industry and other large employers;
help to meet its objective of protecting the pension benefits you have built up;
provide more sustainable pension arrangements in the future; and
help the Company to continue to provide as many good quality jobs as possible.
More information

A range of information is available to explain our proposal. Please read your consultation mailing carefully. You can also watch an RMtv Special on the 2018 Pension Review and you can find a Question and Answer section at http://www.myroyalmail.com/pensions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Look out for more stories on the 2018 Pensions Review proposal in the coming days.

Important note: The Company is not proposing any changes to the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan. However, the future cost of the Royal Mail Pension Plan and its potential impact on the health of the Company affects everybody. Members of the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan will also be receiving a letter informing them about the consultation. We will keep all employees fully informed.

If you have any queries please contact your.news@royalmail.com

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They want our feedback:

https://www.myroyalmail.com/news/2017/01/your-feedback" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The posting of the Royal Mail Pension Plan (the Plan) consultation documents marks the start of the member-wide consultation period. We are committed to not making any changes to the Plan before April 2018, subject to certain conditions we told you about in 2013.

The consultation is now open and will end on 10 March 2017. We will continue discussions with our unions during and after the consultation.

We want to hear your views

You can provide feedback on the proposal by post or email using the contact details below.

By post: Freepost MY PENSION, Pond Street, SHEFFIELD, S98 6HR.

By email: my.pension@royalmail.com(“my pension” in your Outlook address menu).


You can also find these details in the consultation booklet and at http://www.myroyalmail.com/pensions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

We will consider your views and any affordable proposals sent in by you or your representatives. We will discuss your feedback with the unions as part of the pension review process.

Answering your questions

If you have questions about the proposal, take a look at the Question and Answer section on http://www.myroyalmail.com/pensions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. You can also call the Pensions Consultation Helpline on 0345 850 0081. Lines are open Monday-Friday, 8.30am-5pm, not including bank holidays.

If you have any queries please contact your.news@royalmail.com

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And for current DC members:

https://www.myroyalmail.com/news/2017/0 ... an-members" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We have today launched a consultation on the future of the Royal Mail Pension Plan (the Plan). Our proposal does not affect members of the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan (DC Plan), and retired or deferred members of the Plan. However, the future cost of the Plan, and the potential impact that will have on the health of the Company, will affect all employees.

Members of the DC Plan will also be receiving a letter over the coming days informing them about the consultation.

We will keep all employees informed.

If you have any queries about the DC Plan, please go to http://www.myroyalmail.com/pensions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

If you have any queries please contact your.news@royalmail.com

[rubberbond]

Can someone advise ,which part of the pension scheme, that I would be in ,or anyone for that matter,by way of when the cut off date was.
So, am I in a "final,salary",group,or am I in a "defined contribution",group.
Thank you

[RobertT]

Can someone advise ,which part of the pension scheme, that I would be in ,or anyone for that matter,by way of when the cut off date was.
So, am I in a "final,salary",group,or am I in a "defined contribution",group.
Thank you

The Royal Mail Pension Plan(RMPP) was final salary up to 31st March 2008 and was then changed to average salary(or sometimes known as CARE or CSDB) from then onwards. But it was also closed to new entrants at the same time.

So anyone who joined RM after 1st April 2008 will be in the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan(RMDCP).

Just to confuse things: There will also be some people who started at RM before 2008 but who opted out of the RMPP and were then only able to join the RMDCP. And some who have already taken their RMPP pensions and are now in the RMDCP.

The easiest way to find out which scheme you’re in is to look at your pay slip, it will say either RMPP or RMDCP.