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Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH
D L Hawkins Esq
Superannuation Division Civil Service Department WHITEHALL
Telephone 01- 233 4892
Your reference
Our reference
SW1A 2AH
Date
17 January 1978
HOVER
GOVERNORS PENSION SCHEME
1. In my letter of 21 November I wrote to put to you a technical point arising out of the draft for the new Governors Pension Scheme, namely the implications of promotion in absentia for the salary to be taken in calculating the aggregated award under the PCSPS of an officer who had had earlier DS service before governor's service. Willby subsequently wrote to support the case that I put to you (his letter of 20 December), and to provide a helpful clarification. I very much hope that you will soon be able to give us a reassuring answer on this point. Looking at the matter from another angle, it seems to us to be essential that the possibility of promotion
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in absentia should be allowed for, in the calculation of an aggregated award; otherwise, we shall not be able to advise a DS officer who is approached about an appointment 'as governor, that he will be no worne off, from the superannuation point of view, than if he had served on in the DS.
2. May I also take this opportunity to support the plea which Willby made in the last paragraph of his letter for an early introduction of the new Governors Pension Scheme. It is, I believe, now several years since the draft was circulated for study. Like the ODM, we find ourselves pressed from time to time for elucidation of the superannuation terms that can be expected after service as a governor; and it seems to us that offficers have a right to expect clear and precise answers. As matter stand, we have to present highly qualified advice, which is tricky to draft and difficult for those concerned to understand. We have run up against this problem in the case of Sir Peter Ramsbotham; we shall probably soon encounter it in the case of Sir Murray MacLehose. It is doubly embarrassing to have to prevaricate when asked about pension estimates from officers as senior as these. I very much hope therefore that it will be possible for you very soon to give us a firm date for the introduction of the new scheme. If, for instance, we could be assured of an implementation date of 31 March this year, we could probably defer a final decision about whether Sir Peter Ramsbotham should be seconded or transferred
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