| Wednesday 11th January 2012 COUNCIL WORKERS PENSIONS SAVINGS MUST NOT BE USED TO SUBSIDISE DODGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS SAYS GMB There may be some sensible infrastructure investments that are as good as other investments - that's fine - but we can't have the £140 billion LGPS funds used as a politician’s plaything says GMB GMB commented on the revelation that the Treasury and the Local Government Association (LGA) have been having secret talks about using Local Government Pension Schemes funds (LGPS) to pay for infrastructure projects. See notes to Editors for 2010 valuations of monies in 91 funds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Brian Strutton GMB National Secretary for Public Services said “The money in these pension funds are union members savings for their retirements. They are not a Treasury resource. The funds are savings belonging to local government workers and they should be invested well. I'm very surprised that Treasury and the Local Government Association have been discussing the use of our member’s pension savings to support government infrastructure projects like roads and railways. There has been no discussion with us which is very worrying. Given that government wants staff to take more responsibility for the cost of their pensions we have an absolute right to have a say in how those pension savings are invested. GMB intend that this right is exercised by our members. There may be some sensible infrastructure investments that are as good as other investments - that's fine - but we can't have the £140 billion LGPS funds used as a politician’s plaything. Pension fund savings cannot be gambled on projects which are financially dodgy due to risks of cost escalations from planning, design or other problems. Government has worked with National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) to come up with ways for private sector pension schemes to invest in infrastructure projects safely and GMB will be happy to help do the same for the LGPS. But GMB can't have our members' pension pots raided to pay for pet projects for politicians. That is not fair and probably unlawful." End Contact: Brian Strutton 07860 606 137 or Naomi Cooke GMB National Pensions Officer 07739 919 633 Notes to Editors: 2010 Valuation Results from England, Wales and Northern Ireland for each of the 91 local authority pension funds set out alphabetically: Fund Assets (m) Actuarial Deficit (m) Funding Level Ongoing Employer Contribution Employee Contrib Barking & Dagenham London Borough £549 £180 75.4% 16.1% 6.8% Barnet London Borough £631 £190 76.0% 14.2% 6.6% Bath & NE Somerset (Avon Pension Fund) £2,459 £552 82.0% 11.8% 6.4% Bedfordshire County Council £1,168 £449 72.0% 13.9% 6.6% Berkshire Pension Fund £1,319 £311 81.0% 12.8% 6.6% Bexley London Borough £448 £69 87.0% 12.9% 6.5% Brent London Borough £455 £294 61.0% 13.4% 6.6% Bromley London Borough £448 £81 84.0% 14.7% 6.6% Buckinghamshire County Council £1,322 £349 79.0% 13.7% 6.5% Cambridgeshire County Council £1,494 £555 73.0% 17.2% 6.5% Camden London Borough £877 £277 76.0% 16.8% 7.0% Cheshire County Council £2,577 £600 81.0% 16.1% 6.5% City & County of Cardiff Council £1,031 £431 71.0% 14.9% 6.3% City & County of Swansea £1,017 £319 76.0% 14.6% 6.3% City of Westminster £670 £238 74.0% 12.4% 6.9% Clwyd Pension Fund £956 £376 72.0% 11.7% 6.3% Cornwall County Council £1,041 £289 78.3% 16.5% 6.5% Corporation of London £571 £92 86.0% 12.4% 6.8% Croydon London Borough £584 £301 66.0% 13.1% 6.6% Cumbria County Council £1,278 £331 79.0% 12.5% 6.2% Derbyshire County Council £2,409 £558 81.1% 11.9% 6.4% Devon County Council £2,327 £530 81.0% 14.3% 6.4% Dorset County Council £1,412 £375 79.0% 13.8% 6.4% Durham County Council £1,682 £418 80.0% 13.1% 6.4% Dyfed Pension Fund £1,234 £129 91.0% 12.0% 6.3% Ealing London Borough £610 £258 70.0% 12.1% 6.6% East Riding County Council £2,302 £808 74.0% 17.2% 6.4% East Sussex County Council £1,869 £272 87.3% 16.0% 6.6% Enfield London Borough £570 £128 82.0% 15.1% 6.6% Environment Agency (Active) £1,589 £95 94.0% 13.0% 6.9% Essex County Council £3,085 £1,234 71.0% 12.2% 6.5% Gloucestershire County Council £1,054 £444 70.4% 15.4% 6.6% Greenwich London Borough £702 £121 85.0% 14.1% 6.6% Gwynedd Pension Fund £930 £183 83.5% 17.1% 6.5% Hackney London Borough £729 £378 65.8% 16.7% 6.8% Hammersmith & Fulham London Borough £532 £186 74.0% 13.1% 6.8% Hampshire County Council £3,238 £1,256 72.0% 13.2% 6.5% Haringey London Borough £664 £296 69.0% 17.3% 6.8% Harrow London Borough £436 £157 73.5% 16.0% 6.7% Havering London Borough £361 £228 61.3% 15.1% 6.7% Hertfordshire County Council £2,194 £757 74.3% 16.8% 6.6% Hillingdon London Borough £564 £163 77.6% 15.9% 6.7% Hounslow London Borough £509 £120 81.0% 12.8% 6.7% Isle of Wight County Council £296 £97 75.3% 17.7% 6.4% Islington London Borough £733 £283 72.0% 11.3% 6.7% Kensington & Chelsea London Borough £451 £58 89.0% 14.8% 6.8% Kent County Council £2,885 £843 77.0% 14.1% 6.4% Kingston Upon Thames Royal London Borough £385 £145 73.0% 14.7% 6.7% Lambeth London Borough £765 £1,055 72.5% 16.8% 6.9% Lancashire County Council £3,962 £993 80.0% 12.5% 6.4% Leicestershire County Council £2,111 £529 80.0% 14.3% 6.5% Lewisham London Borough £715 £234 75.4% 17.7% 6.8% Lincolnshire County Council £1,204 £382 76.0% 16.5% 6.4% London Pensions Fund Authority (Active) £2,417 £480 83.0% 12.9% 6.8% London Pensions Fund Authority (Pensioners) £1,300 £390 77.0% - 6.7% Merseyside Pension Fund £4,706 £1,310 78.0% 11.6% 6.4% Merton London Borough £344 £67 84.0% 14.1% 6.6% Newham London Borough £662 £250 72.0% 13.7% 6.6% NILGOSC £3,540 £783 82.0% 17.7% 6.4% Norfolk County Council £1,936 £486 80.0% 15.7% 6.6% North Yorkshire County Council £1,345 £659 67.0% 12.2% 6.3% Northamptonshire County Council £1,206 £445 73.0% 16.2% 6.5% Northumberland County Council £719 £209 78.0% 15.7% 6.2% Nottinghamshire County Council £2,644 £521 84.0% 13.5% 6.4% Oxfordshire County Council £1,079 £287 79.0% 14.4% 6.5% Powys County Council £324 £130 71.0% 14.8% 6.2% Redbridge London Borough £397 £162 71.0% 14.8% 6.6% Rhondda, Cynon & Taff CBC £1,569 £660 70.0% 13.1% 6.4% Richmond-Upon-Thames London Borough £383 £98 80.1% 17.4% 6.9% Shropshire County Council £951 £226 81.0% 11.6% 6.4% Somerset County Council £1,076 £321 77.0% 13.1% 6.4% South Yorkshire Pension Fund £4,076 £1,085 79.0% 12.0% 6.4% South Yorkshire PTA £162 £27 86.0% 19.4% 6.3% Southwark London Borough £789 £222 78.0% 13.6% 6.7% Staffordshire County Council £2,435 £822 74.8% 16.2% 6.5% Suffolk County Council £1,415 £306 82.0% 16.6% 6.6% Surrey County Council £1,944 £755 72.0% 16.3% 6.7% Sutton London Borough £337 £153 69.0% 17.5% 6.7% Tameside (Grtr Manchester) £10,445 £390 96.4% 14.0% 6.5% Teesside Pension Fund £2,233 £18 99.0% 14.6% 6.5% Torfean County Borough Council £1,512 £530 74.0% 11.1% 6.3% Tower Hamlets London Borough £755 £305 71.2% 17.3% 6.8% Tyne & Wear Pension Fund £4,305 £1,131 79.0% 15.3% 6.3% Waltham Forest London Borough £480 £318 60.0% 11.3% 6.5% Wandsworth London Borough £769 £75 91.0% 15.3% 6.8% Warwickshire County Council £1,099 £229 83.0% 12.8% 6.4% West Midlands Pension Fund £8,008 £2,614 75.0% 11.9% 6.5% West Sussex County Council £1,759 £288 85.9% 16.4% 6.6% West Yorkshire Pension Fund £7,942 £590 93.0% 13.8% 6.3% Wiltshire County Council £1,167 £396 74.6% 16.0% 6.2% Worcestershire County Council £1,366 £613 69.0% 11.6% 6.4% |