From Canon S. D. Earis
Sir, - With the final announcement of the abolition of the
State Second Pension (S2P), I think that the Church of England
Pensions Board has some explaining to do.
The demise of S2P has been heralded for several years, and was
so at the time that the Board, to lessen its pensions burden,
persuaded the General Synod to move to S2P to support Clergy
Pensions. You published a letter of mine (24/31 December
2010) which questioned whether this reliance, which has cost
clergy significant amounts of extra National Insurance month by
month, was sensible in the circumstances.
Perhaps the Board could say whether this shifting of the burden
to the clergy has, in any sense, been value for money, when the
long-expected abolition of S2P and the new enhanced state pension
in 2017 seems, as has always been the intention, to favour
specifically groups, like most of the clergy, who are lower
paid.
S. D. EARIS
The Vicarage, 28a Yarmouth Road
North Walsham NR28 9AT