FDA welcomes Judicial Pensions Bill - 17 May 2006

Today the FDA - the union for senior managers and professionals in public service - welcomed the announcement in the Queen's speech of the proposed Judicial Pensions Bill. The bill would exempt judges' pensions from the tax on personal pension pots worth more than £1.5 million that will come into force in April 2006.

FDA general secretary Jonathan Baume said that the welcome change in legislation would ensure judges received the pensions they deserved, but expressed concern that other public servants are still likely to lose out.

"We welcome this proposed legislation that will give judges exemption from the pensions tax. However, other senior public servants will still face a detriment to their pensions at a time when their pay and benefits packages increasingly lag behind other sectors. Those who will lose most from the pension tax will be members of the Senior Civil Service, NHS managers, senior police officers and other dedicated professionals - the very people whom the Government has tasked to lead public service reform.

"The flexibility in rewarding top executives that exists in the private sector can be used to avoid the full effects of this tax. No such flexibility exists in the public sector. In fact, Government is seeking to reduce public sector pensions and thus the total value of reward packages. How does the Government plan to attract and retain good managers if they cannot reward them properly?"

Notes for Editors
1. The FDA is the trade union and professional body representing the UK's 13,000 senior civil and public servants. Our members include policy advisors, senior managers, tax inspectors, economists, statisticians, accountants, special advisers, government lawyers, diplomats, crown prosecutors and NHS managers.

2. The FDA can be referred to simply as "The FDA" and described as "the senior civil and public servants' union" or something along those lines. We would be grateful if you would avoid using 'First Division Association' as this is no longer our name and causes all sorts of confusion with football clubs and the like. Thank you!

3. For further information contact: