Prison Officers: Pensions

(asked on 17th April 2018) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with unions representing prison officers on the new pension scheme since its introduction in 2015.


Answered by
 Portrait
Rory Stewart
This question was answered on 25th April 2018

This House recognises the significant role that prison officers play within the criminal justice system and the physical and often dangerous nature of their work.

Since the introduction of the new Civil Service Pension Scheme in 2015, HM Prison and Probation Service has held lengthy discussions with the Prison Officers Association (the trade union for prison officers) over the changes made under the new scheme introduced in 2015, and has offered a new pension package for frontline prison staff, allowing them a reduced retirement age of up to three years – from 68 to 65 with no cost to the employee. The POA balloted their membership on the offer, but voted to reject it.

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