SFHA Employers Give Massive Support to Defined Benefit Pensions
Date Issued: 10 March 2008
In a recent review of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) Pension Scheme, employers voted, overwhelmingly, to continue to provide employees with a defined benefit pension. The review was undertaken in recognition of increasing employment costs in the social housing sector, to make sure that employers could offer a good quality, affordable, pension arrangement.
Employers participating in the SFHA Pension Scheme could choose one of three options for pensionable service built up after April 2008. These are:
- Final salary 1/60th accrual (existing structure)
- CARE (Career Average Revalued Earnings) 1/60th accruals
- CARE 1/70th accruals
Employers can operate different benefit options for both existing and new employees.
The key results for employers currently offering the Scheme were:
- No employers have closed the Scheme to future accrual for existing members as a result of this review
- All employers are retaining the existing final salary 1/60th option for existing employees
- No employers have closed the Scheme to new employees as a result of this review
- 84% of employers are retaining the existing final salary 1/60th option for new employees
Logan Anderson, Head of Customer Relations at The Pensions Trust, commented: “These results demonstrate massive support from employers for the continued provision of defined benefit pension provision in the Scheme. This is good news for employers and employees alike. Employers can continue to compete with both the public and private sectors for high quality staff, while employees can enjoy job mobility within the housing sector, knowing that their pension will not suffer as a result.”
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