CRT Changes To Executive Team

[adam1uk]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I wonder if anyone at C&RT will 'get the message' ?

When 3 key, long serving members, all decide to retire at the same time, and all of them are 'years away from statutory retirement age', as a manager, I would be asking why ?

Do C&RT undertake pre-leaving interviews ?

They might be years away from the current statutory retirement age, but as they all appear to have worked for BW, they’ll probably have been in the old BW pension scheme — which members were allowed to stay in when the change to CRT took place.  It was a final salary scheme, and I’d be amazed if the retirement age was higher than 60.  Like other civil service type pensions, it probably also had quite generous terms for drawing your pension early.

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I wonder if anyone at C&RT will 'get the message' ?

When 3 key, long serving members, all decide to retire at the same time, and all of them are 'years away from statutory retirement age', as a manager, I would be asking why ?

Do C&RT undertake pre-leaving interviews ?

Whilst they may be "years away from statutory retirement age", BW was a QANGO, and thus shared the Civil Service pension scheme, which allowed retirement at 60 years of age for most members (the age at which pension becomes payable has been increased for younger members). Presumably this too was inherited by CRT from BW.

If this is the case then they aredoing what most people do and retiring as soon as they can afford to.

[Allan(nb Albert)]

The generous BW defined benefits scheme was closed to future benefit accrual a year ago. Part of a pay claim submitted jointly by Unite & Unison earlier this year recognised that ex BW employees had been disadvantaged financially by this move.
 

[Ray T]

2 hours ago, Allan(nb Albert) said:

The generous BW defined benefits scheme was closed to future benefit accrual a year ago. Part of a pay claim submitted jointly by Unite & Unison earlier this year recognised that ex BW employees had been disadvantaged financially by this move.
 

Not just BW / CRT, British Telecom / Openreach have played the same game and still are moving the goal posts to the detrement of current employees. They have also been looking to see if they can alter the widows pension scheme. At the moment if my wife survives me she gets 50% of  my pension. BT are looking to see if they can "adjust" this. Also when I was 59 and a  bit I was offered a years salary to go. I'd have been stupid to have stayed. I always wanted to retire at 60 having done 42 years.

Do you know what terms the CRT people were offered? It may have been similar to mine and it may be financially unsound to stay.

 

Edited November 13, 2017 by Ray T

[CV32]

11 minutes ago, Ray T said:

Not just BW / CRT, British Telecom / Openreach have played the same game and still are moving the goal posts to the detrement of current employees. They have also been looking to see if they can alter the widows pension scheme. At the moment if my wife survives me she gets 50% of  my pension. BT are looking to see if they can "adjust" this. Also when I was 59 and a  bit I was offered a years salary to go. I'd have been stupid to have stayed. I always wanted to retire at 60 having done 42 years.

Do you know what terms the CRT people were offered? It may have been similar to mine and it may be financially unsound to stay.

 

All the final salary pensions are at risk of not paying out - they have to do something to keep them viable otherwise many thousands will suffer. Not what you want to hear I know but the pension administrators would be failing in their duties if they did not attempt to fix the issue.

[Allan(nb Albert)]

6 hours ago, Ray T said:

 

Do you know what terms the CRT people were offered? It may have been similar to mine and it may be financially unsound to stay.

 

I don't know what severance package these people were offered, if any.

No doubt time will tell how C&RT intends to reduce headcount.

[Alan de Enfield]

14 hours ago, adam1uk said:

They might be years away from the current statutory retirement age, but as they all appear to have worked for BW, they’ll probably have been in the old BW pension scheme — which members were allowed to stay in when the change to CRT took place.  It was a final salary scheme, and I’d be amazed if the retirement age was higher than 60.  Like other civil service type pensions, it probably also had quite generous terms for drawing your pension early.

I too was in a final pension scheme (in 'industry'), with a paid up mortgage & no debts and was fortunate enough to be able to afford to retire at age 46, so I do understand the thought 'retire when you can'

 

[cuthound]

9 hours ago, Ray T said:

 Also when I was 59 and a  bit I was offered a years salary to go. I'd have been stupid to have stayed. I always wanted to retire at 60 having done 42 years.

 

Similar for me. I wanted to stay with BT until I was 60 with 42 years service, but could see the generous redundancy scheme wouldn't last for ever as it clearly aimed attempting the large number of 50 somethings. In the last quarter of 2007 they missed their voluntary redundancy target, so offered a one 25% enhancement, so I took it at the age of 54.

I went to an agency who found me less onerous work for a better package. The following March BT have the benefits of their voluntary redundancy package, do luckily, I "maxed" it.

I realise how lucky I have been to work when I did, and feel sorry for people working today, who have much reduced pensions for which they take all the risks of future financial performance. Nothing will change unless it is for the worse until there is an undersupply of the Labour market.

Edited November 14, 2017 by cuthound
Spillung

[Heartland]

I gather Howard decided to retire some time ago. Nice guy.