Although long retired, I take a bit of interest in current developments and I have been intrigued by the changes of public-sector pensions to career average revalued earnings, especially for the British Armed Forces, because of the example I used in my presidential address to the Faculty of Actuaries in 1991.
What I said was: "I am on record in our transactions as not being particularly enamoured of final salary schemes. Why should the salary of a person for a very short period before retirement be so important and determine a pension for years thereafter?" I quoted that a general gets a much bigger pension than a lieutenant general, a lieutenant general gets a much bigger pension than a major general, but in each case the person only holds the more senior rank for about two years or so.
What did I say I would like? An average salary scheme revalued in some way by cost of living or earnings seemed good to me.
It took a quarter of a century to get the change!
Alistair Neill 5 March
