RepsDirect No 159 - 9 December 2002



From
Head of Health, Roger Spiller General Secretary, Roger Lyons

1 ALISON NORMAN IS THE CPHVA'S NEW PRESIDENT

Alison Norman, the former President of the UKCC, is the new President of the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association.

She took over from Lady Limerick who has stepped down after 18 years as President.

Alison Norman, who is a former Health Visitor and Midwife, is currently Director of Nursing and Operations at the Christie Hospital NHS Trust in Manchester.

She was President of the UKCC between 1998-2002 and is a former chair of the Health Visitors' Association (1990-92), the forerunner of the CPHVA.

She said: "I am honoured to be asked to take on the role of the CPHVA's President at a time when the Government has signalled its strong commitment to public health. It is also a challenging time for the profession, with much debate about the evolving nature of its role."

The position of President is an honorary one and the main duty consists of chairing the CPHVA's annual general meeting each autumn.

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2 NHS Pensions and Early Retirement

If a member of the NHS Pension Scheme is considering taking early retirement (with express agreement of their employer), but not on ill-health grounds, then their pension will suffer an actuarial reduction, and their lump sum will also be reduced. In order to make such an informed decision, members should contact the NHS Pensions Agency in Fleetwood to obtain an illustration of their specific figures. However, this task can take around six weeks to be completed.

In order to expedite this request, the NHS Pensions Agency have introduced a service known as "Pensions On-line," whereby scheme members (in conjunction with a local HR representative) can view instant estimates of their current benefits. On an individual basis, the system allows for modelling of pensions to variable suggested retirement ages, and it can also identify the potential for and cost of purchase of additional membership through AVCs.

The system is provided free to NHS employers through the secure NHS Net, although local Trusts (usually the payroll department) have to register with the agency.

As well as providing an instant benefit statement, the system can illustrate the effect of delaying retirement, the effect of "step down" and "wind down" retirement, and it can also illustrate the effect of "retire and return" and of part-time working.

However, it must be stressed that the system should only be used to provide information and not to give specific financial advice, which would be the remit of an accredited financial advisor.

Furthermore, it must be noted that such a system must NOT be used to apply undue pressure on members to retire earlier than they desire. It also has to be said that any protected benefits (e.g. under a step down scheme) will not reflect either potential increments nor actual pay increases. amicus are seeking a meeting with the NHS Pensions Committee and other unions to discuss such matters.

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3 The Health Professions Council

Become a "partner" in the modernised regulation of health care professionals

The Health Professions Council is currently recruiting Partners to work with them in a number of different areas from April 2003.

There are three main areas of work that will be covered by these Partners:

To find out more about the roles and/or for an information pack, log on to the website at www.hpc-uk.org. Alternatively write to the Human Resources Department, The Health Professions Council, Park House, 184 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4BU.

The closing date for applications is 10th January 2003.

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