IN 1996, Major-General John Moore-Bick led the operation to rebuild bridges, roads and railways in post-war Bosnia, earning a CBE for his outstanding work.
In November, he will be leading another reconstruction operation – this time to rebuild the pension schemes of British servicemen in Cyprus.
Moore-Bick is campaigning on behalf of the Forces Pension Society – a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that exists “to ensure that serving and retired members of the Armed Forces, their widows, widowers, surviving partners, civil partners and dependants receive the pension to which they are entitled and which they deserve,” the Society website says.
“Complete independence from the Ministry of Defence allows the FPS to engage vigorously with parliament, ministers, military chains of command and government officials to ensure that Service pensions properly reflect the sacrifices made by the people serving in the Forces.”
According to a press release, the organisation campaigns for “equitable and justifiable conditions in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme for all ranks of all three Services,” seeks “resolution of various iniquitous legacy issues” and offers advice to members with specific pension issues.
Less than 200 members are registered with the Forces Pension Society in Cyprus – this despite the fact that British servicemen on the island currently number over 3,000 and retired service personnel about 1,000.
For this reason, the FPS has decided to launch a campaign to encourage servicemen in Cyprus to join the Society.
“According to our calculations,” Moore-Bick said, “less than five per cent of service and ex-service personnel in Cyprus have access to any independent advice about their pension.
“We believe some retirees could be missing out big time and many of those who are still in active service do not know what to do to maximise their income after leaving military service.”
The problem lies primarily in the fact that Armed Forces Pension Schemes are difficult for most servicemen to understand – they are complex and the terminology used is highly technical.
As such, pensioners often fail to pick up certain unintended anomalies contained in their pension policies.
Without a trade union to argue on pensioners’ behalf, these anomalies often go unchecked.
As a result, servicemen are sometimes left with a raw retirement deal.
The Forces Pension Society has thus taken on the responsibility of independently representing the pension interests of both active and retired British servicemen and campaigns to correct unfairness and anomalies in pension schemes.
MAJOR-GENERAL Moore-Bick and other Forces Pension Society representatives will arrive in Cyprus on Saturday 22 November and will spend four days conducting a series of free presentations and encouraging servicemen to join the Society.
A number of free confidential ‘surgeries’ to advise individual members on their pension issues will also be held.
Through the workshops, the FPS hopes that many more pension policies can be repaired so that those who have selflessly served their country can fully enjoy the golden years of retirement they deserve.
“[Servicemen] make a unique commitment and are required to take exceptional risks on behalf of the nation… The Forces Pension Society advocates their entitlement to pensions that reflect their commitment,” the FPS website says.
* All retired servicemen and their dependents (including non-members) wanting to attend the ‘surgeries’ in Larnaca and Limassol on November 23 and Paphos on November 25 should contact Mike Groves on 99-068477
