The organisation defending the rights of retired members of the Australian Public Service (APS) is to close down next June after 96 years of service.
The Superannuated Commonwealth Officers Association (SCOA Australia) is to cease operations citing financial, age, declining membership and the changing APS workplace as the main causes.
Acting President of SCOA, John Blount (pictured), announced the closure saying it was a difficult decision to make after representing the interests of hundreds of thousands of retired APS employees over so many years.
“The inexorable pressure of demographics and finances over a number of years have made this inevitable,” Mr Blount said
“The nature of government employees’ retirement arrangements, indeed the whole workplace context where a job in the Public Service is no longer a life-long career, has changed dramatically.”
He said the average duration of a PSS member was now between 6 and 8 years.
Mr Blount said the changes in PS retirement schemes from the old CSS and PSS to the new accumulation schemes had apparently diminished the interest APS members had in their superannuation.
He said that in recent years SCOA had been advocating for fairer indexation and taxation of their defined benefit pensions which averaged just $33,000 per retiree in December 2017.
“Unfortunately our requests for fairer treatment have fallen on deaf ears, with governments from both sides of the aisle arguing that the CSS and PSS pensions are generous and that the recipients ought to be grateful”, he said.
“Although SCOA has achieved a great deal for members over the years, we have to admit that governments of both persuasions have won out in their refusal to give us fair treatment, in particular with regard to indexation.
“This is our biggest disappointment”.
A detailed closure statement from the Association can be accessed at this PS News link.
