Armed Forces: Pension Scheme

Lord Ribeiro Excerpts

Monday 22nd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, I am sorry to disappoint the noble Lord, but we have no plans to review this. When selecting personnel of the Armed Forces for compulsory redundancy, no consideration was given to the proximity of the immediate pension point. I can tell the noble Lord that only 1.2% of those made redundant are close to their immediate pension point. As we reduce the size of the Armed Forces, our priority is to ensure that the services maintain the correct balance of those skills and experience across rank structures that are required to deliver operational capability now and in the future. That is what has determined our redundancy criteria.

[Lord Ribeiro]

My Lords, what support will be made available for members leaving the Armed Forces, in particular for those members who are in danger of committing suicide?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

My Lords, my noble friend asks a very important question. The majority of service personnel make a successful transition to civilian life. All service leavers are entitled to some form of resettlement assistance. The Career Transition Partnership has proved successful in assisting service leavers to find work and a recent defence statistics survey shows that of the service leavers in 2011-12 who have a known employment outcome, around 85% are employed within six months of leaving the Armed Forces. Our resettlement arrangements are kept constantly under review to ensure the needs of service leavers are met.