D LEE says on November 22 that he is "astonished", and so am I, but not for the same reason.
His/her grasp of the basic facts concerning the firefighters' pension scheme is flawed, to say the least.
Firefighters can retire after 25 years service on a pension equal to half-pay or after 30 years on two-thirds' pay. However, the minimum age of retirement age for a firefighter is 50 years of age, and the the maximum 55 years. There is no way that a firefighter, aged 41, with only 20 years' service can retire with a pension of £20,000pa.
Firefighters who join the service at 18 cannot retire until they are 50 and have completed 32 years' service, by which time they have paid 32 years' pension contributions for a 30-year pension.
When a firefighter retires at 50, his/her pension is not index linked until they achieve 55 years of age. After this, their pension is adjusted by the Government annually each April in line with the cost of living index.
D Lee also says that firefighters only work four days out of eight. They work two, nine-hour day shifts followed by two 15-hour night shifts, which totals 48 hours over eight days, averaging out as a 42-hour week. On their first "day off", they do not finish work until 0900hrs, therefore they actually get three clear days off.
As A Dargan (November 22) points out, the firefighters' basic working week is still four-and-a-half hours above the industrial standard of 37 hours. They receive no enhancement of pay when working night, or weekend shifts.
Stephen H Vernon
Bee Hive Green
Bolton
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