Treasury “Quirk” May Mean Housing Associations Topping-Up Staff’s State Pension

Housing associations could find themselves paying out extra to cover pensions costs thanks to a “quirk of legislation” that allows the Treasury to pass on the cost of state pensions reforms. The issue is of primary concern to local authorities, which would see £1bn added to their pension bill, but it could also impact housing associations and other organisations that make use of public sector pension schemes.  The Government has traditionally provided a top-up to the state pension to inflation-proof it against rising prices. But as part of the reforms to create a single tier state pension, the DWP will stop providing the top-up for some of the pension of those who reach state pension age after 5 April 2016. Most private sector employees will definitely be at the top-ups end but there is continuing uncertainty over the position of public sector employees and others who participate in public sector pension schemes. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.