Recent posts

#21

General Discussion / Re: Adjustments to Pensions in...

Last post by philjohnson - December 17, 2021, 11:23:41 AM

Thanks for confirming what seems to be a lack of proactive support from the Trustee and pension team on keeping deferred HPS2 members informed annually on how their prospective pension stacks up. I'm also talking to another deferred member who, whilst actually working for Jacobs, exactly like you hasn't receive any annual updates since late 2016. I suspect they don't have to send out annual updates to deferred so they only respond to requests, which I strongly recommend deferred members regularly make. Nearly all other DB schemes treat their deferred members with a much greater degree of proactive support, either via user friendly interactive websites where your pension data can be checked each year or with frequent communications - or both. As we have found so many times, communications to the membership is not their forte.

#22

General Discussion / Re: Adjustments to Pensions in...

Last post by meelit - December 16, 2021, 06:27:40 PM

Yes Phil, I can confirm that I have not received a pension statement since the 4th of Oct 2016 statement when the transition was made to HPS2. I have however, received an estimate last year (2020) from the pensions team in a letter in response to my enquiries about early retirement.


I have deduced that the base CPI value used in the pension statement on 4/10/16 was 100.6 and then onwards, I have used the CPI values for estimating the increases in subsequent years from

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/d7bt/mm23

The early and late retirement factors have also changed over time and the latest ones I received from the pensions team on 17/8/21 are in the attached file. It is a partial list but may be useful to others in a similar position to estimate their pensions.


Given the numerous components, each with a different rate of increase and normal retirement age (NRA) which make up the total pension in HPS2, it is a challenge but a reasonable estimate can be made.

#23

General Discussion / Re: Adjustments to Pensions in...

Last post by philjohnson - December 15, 2021, 08:01:00 AM

Meelit, does you question confirm that as a deferred member you haven't received an annual statement since 2017? Can you confirm this? It appears from ourvrecent enquiries that all deferred members have not received statement since then.

#24

General Discussion / Re: Adjustments to Pensions in...

Last post by meelit - December 06, 2021, 10:28:03 PM

Thanks John. So it is the Oct CPI (amongst other factors) used to adjust the pension increases beginning Jan of the following year.

#25

General Discussion / Re: Adjustments to Pensions in...

Last post by John Ratsey - December 06, 2021, 10:07:48 PM

I've only just noticed this question. See the attached information sheet (for the 2020 pension increase as that's what I could lay my hands on).

#26

General Discussion / Re: Adjustments to Pensions in...

Last post by meelit - November 25, 2021, 09:28:37 AM

I understand that HPS2 pensions are adjusted for inflation once a year. Which month's CPI is used to adjust it and in which month do the pensions get increased? Is it the same time frame as the State pension which I believe uses the Sept CPI rate, amongst other things, to adjust the State pensions for the following tax year? Grateful for any clarification. Still a way to go to claim my pension but counting the dosh is an enjoyable pastime!

#27

Suggestions for Social Activities of HPA / The Suggestions Box

Last post by John Ratsey - May 15, 2021, 06:54:24 PM

Please share your ideas for how HPA could expand to include social activities.

My initial thought is by organising group activities, but the first requirement is to have a volunteer to be social organiser.

#28

General Discussion / Re: Guest users

Last post by Jerry Neville - May 04, 2021, 10:44:28 AM

Sounds the right approach John.  And I imagine that the Ukraine would only be one of many looking for chinks in the armour of whatever website is open for visitors/guests.

#29

General Discussion / Re: Guest users

Last post by John Ratsey - May 01, 2021, 12:28:01 PM

That's a valid question. I believe that such guests comprise (i) anyone who is viewing those parts of the forum which can be seen without logging in and (ii) the search engine spiders which crawl around the internet cataloging whatever they can see.

A bigger question is who / what comprised "Most Online Ever: 950 (January 23, 2020, 02:01:43 AM)". I have to wonder if someone thought it a good idea to try to crash our site using a botnet. In the past I've noted a surprising amount of website traffic from Ukraine and have blocked all access from Ukrainian web addresses as I reckon that such users are more likely to be mischief-makers than Halcrow pensioners.

#30

General Discussion / Guest users

Last post by Tony Hoyle - May 01, 2021, 08:18:05 AM

Whenever I log in there are around ten gust users online while I am alone as a registered user and I wonder who these guest users are and why hey are online.