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Last Updated on Friday, 19 April 2024 19:45

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FORCE DEVELOPMENT LOTTERY

The list of prize winners for the March draw can be found in the Members Only section.

A number of retirees among the winners.

BEREAVEMENT NOTICES

Mr Clive Newton Cowey (Rtd. PS715) of Carmarthen passed away peacefully at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen during the evening of Sunday 14th April. The funeral arrangements are not known at present, they will be circulated by email and posted on the website when known.

Many members of DPP NARPO will fondly remember Clive for his outstanding commitment to the branch over many years  as Secretary, Treasurer and as Vice President.

Pat has respectfully requested on behalf of Clive’s family that their privacy be respected at this sad time.

UPDATE:

A Celebration of Clive’s life will be held at Christ Church, Carmarthen at 1:30 pm on Tuesday 7th May and afterwards at The Falcon Hotel, Lamas Street, Carmarthen.

Donations in memory of Clive, if desired, to Pancreatic Cancer UK will be received by Glanmor Evans and Son, Funeral Directors, Login Chapel of Rest, Llangunnor Road, Carmarthen SA31 2PG Phone: (01267) 237100.

NOTICE: 2024 DYFED-POWYS NARPO ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The branch AGM will be held on Monday 29th April 2024 at The Falcon Hotel, Lammas Street, Carmarthen, SA313AP commencing at 11.00 am. Tea and coffee will be available from 10:30am onwards and lunch will be served at approximately 1:00pm. (Numbers are required for catering by Friday 19th April 2024).
N.B. The meeting is open to all members, all meeting costs are covered by the branch and if you require lunch, then a booking is essential. A menu will be sent to those who commit to attending and will include a return date for choices.
There is no need to inform the Secretary if you are only attending the meeting.

PENSION SCHEME SANCTION CHARGES

The following has been received from Phil Addicott (Secretary) DPP NARPO:

There have been a number of re circulations from other forces and NARPO branches regarding the issue of Pension Scheme Sanction Charges being refunded.

The Scheme Sanction Charge is a charge related to an unauthorised payment.  An unauthorised payment happens when a commutation lump sum is above the Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS) threshold.  Unauthorised payments have been happening since 2011 when commutation factors arose, and the size of the lump sum increased.

There is a member charge of 40% of the unauthorised payment, and a 15% charge known as scheme sanction charge, which should be paid by the scheme, but some scheme managers have been passing this charge to the member.

I have made enquiries with our force and assured that Dyfed Powys have never charged an officer with a sanction charge.

If you retired from another force, I am told that the matter is either resolved or being looked into.

AMMANFORD GET TOGETHER

The next Ammanford area get together will be held at Tycroes Rugby Club on Thursday 25th April commencing at 7:00pm. For further details please contact Harry Rees at harryandbrenda@tiscali.co.uk.

IMPORTANT POLICE MUTUAL UPDATE

The following information regarding Police Mutual has been posted on the NARPO website:

As a valued Police Mutual supporter, I am delighted to share that we have today completed on the sale of Police Mutual’s general insurance and healthcare business to Bspoke Insurance Group Limited (Bspoke Group).

The move helps protect the long-term future of Police Mutual, so that it can invest and grow to better serve the ever-changing needs of the Police community.

Bspoke Group is based in Leeds and brings together a collection of specialist insurance businesses offering a wide range of products and services both direct to customers and to other companies. Bspoke Group has a deep understanding of the Police Mutual business, its ethos and the importance of protecting them to allow the brand to flourish in the future.

Why is this sale good news?

• Today’s announcement enables us to grow and invest in our customers and the financial well-being of Police colleagues for the long-term
• Bspoke Group is committed to the Police Mutual brand and wants to continue to support the values of Police Mutual through financial education, the Police Mutual Foundation, which includes respite breaks and careline and the ongoing sponsorship of UK events.
• The additional investment and support provided by Bspoke Group will allow us to develop our products and services so that we can continue to meet your needs

All Police Mutual customers will today be receiving an email update containing this news, further information is also available on our website www.policemutual.co.uk.

If you have any questions about this announcement, please contact me directly.

We hope you agree that this is an exciting new chapter for Police Mutual and we look forward to sharing more updates with you in the coming months.

Kerry McMahon-White (Managing Director)

Police Mutual

NARPO SUBSCRPTION INCREASE

As from Monday 1st January 2024 there is an increase in the NARPO subscription - the increase is to £26.26 (previously £24.60)

Those who are in receipt of a police pension from Dyfed-Powys Police need to take no action as the monthly subscription will be updated by payroll and continue to be automatically deducted.

For those of you who retired from another force, linked organisation or are members not in receipt of a Police Pension, and our Branch is your main or only branch, you will have to make arrangements for the subscription amount to be paid direct.

Those who are additional members of our Branch there currently is no additional charge.

For those who wish to pay direct our bank account details are:

Account name: NARPO Dyfed Powys Branch 

Sort Code: 40-16-23 

Account number: 51441183

DPP NARPO NEWSLETTER

The autumn / winter issue of the newsletter can be found by going to the Members Only section of the website.

You can read the newsletter as a PDF document or as a magazine by clicking on the links.

For those without an email address, a paper copy of the newsletter will be posted to them from NARPO HQ at Wakefield.

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) SEPTEMBER 2023

The Office of National Statistics has published the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2023 and this stands at 6.7%.

Full details can be found on the ONS website.

Public service pensions in payment are increased each April in line with prices, measured according to the annual increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) to September of the previous year. This is in line with the statutory requirement to increase public service pensions in payment each year by the same rate as the additional State Pension set out in the Pensions Increase Act 1971 and Section 59 of the  Social Security Pensions Act 1975

The process for an increase Public Sector Pension is the same each year. The Statutory Instrument (SI) and Treasury Order goes through Parliament and this is expected in January 2024.

DECISION: UNINCORPORATED V INCORPORATED LEGAL STRUCTURES

For the past 12 months the issue of incorporation has demanded much attention by the National Association of Retired Police Officers. Open meetings and workshops have been held at venues around the country to discuss the implications of incorporation.

In the eyes of the law, an organisation is either unincorporated or incorporated.

WHAT IS AN UNINCORPORATED GROUP?

An unincorporated group is legally understood as a collection of individuals.

This means that an unincorporated group has no legal identity outside of the people who are on its management committee.

As a result, the members of an unincorporated group are personally liable for the group’s actions.

Unincorporated groups cannot enter into contracts in their own right. Instead, a member must enter the contract in their own name.

WHAT IS AN INCORPORATED GROUP?

An incorporated group is legally understood as a group which has its own legal entity. In other words, incorporated groups have legal standing that is similar to that of a person.

This means that members of incorporated groups are not personally liable for the group’s actions. It also means that the group can enter into contracts in its own name.

DECISION:

Mr Peter Davies (Vice Chair) represented Dyfed-Powys NARPO at the annual conference held at Blackpool on Friday 8th September when the matter was debated.

At the conclusion of the debate,a vote was taken on the National Executive’s motion that NARPO transfers to become a ‘Company Limited’ i.e. an Incorporated Group..

The motion was carried with a vote of 76% in favour (210 out of the 276 present).

The change is not expected to be finalised until next year.

GARETH EARP IS HONOURED AT COPS REMEMBRANCE SERVICE.

Dyfed Powys Inspector Gareth Earp was honoured at the 2023 Care of Police Survivors (COPS) Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Gareth, who died on 29 June in a car accident on his way home from work, was included in the roll of honour for officers to have lost their lives since the COPS service last year. His widow, Tamsin, and two of their three sons were at the service and were accompanied by Dyfed Powys Police Federation chair Gareth Jones. Deputy Chief Constable Steve Cockwell represented the Force.

“The COPS service is always a poignant event,” says Gareth, “But it was even more moving this year with Gareth’s sad passing just a matter of weeks ago. It was an honour to be able to attend the service with Gareth’s family and to honour his memory. “The service, while recognising the sacrifice of so many officers, also serves as a reminder of the critical importance of the peer support offered through COPS.

“The charity really does offer a lifeline to the families of fallen officers, giving them the opportunity to speak to others who appreciate the impact an officer’s death can have on the people left behind.”

Ahead of the service, those attending welcomed the arrival of the Blue Knights, the world’s largest law enforcement motorcycle club and supporter of COPS from the time of the charity’s launch.

Minutes later, cyclists from the Police Unity Tour (PUT), made up of hundreds of riders from chapters covering forces across England and Wales, made their way into the arboretum to applause from the crowd.

A team of 50 serving and retired officers and staff from across Wales – including 15 from Dyfed Powys, and the DCC - took part in the PUT, setting off on a 200-mile route to the arboretum in Alrewas on Friday morning.

Dyfed Powys Police Federation member Sarah Evans who helped organise this year’s Welsh chapter acknowledged ahead of the ride that it would be particularly poignant coming so soon after losing Gareth.

On Friday morning, the riders observed a moment of silence outside Aberystwyth police station where Gareth served as an inspector for several years.

Each member of the team wore a black armband featuring the Force crest, a thin blue line and Gareth’s collar number – 1079.

The PUT cyclists set off from their home force areas on Friday and headed first to Drayton Manor near Tamworth on  Saturday to be greeted by the families of fallen officers. They then rode together to the arboretum on Sunday morning for the last leg of their journey.

NARPO PERKS

NARPO are incredibly excited to announce our new partnership with Perkjam, granting our members free, exclusive access to over a thousand offers, discounts, and freebies from big-name brands and local businesses.

The NARPO perks platform, powered by Perkjam, covers all aspects of life from entertainment, technology, travel, automotive and more.

All existing NARPO offers are also available via the new perks platform, housing all available savings in one place.

To register, please visit https://narpo.perkjam.com

NEW PHOTO ALBUM

Due to technical issues, it has not been possible to post photos into the Photo Album section and despite numerous attempts to rectify the problem, the problem has not been fixed.

Therefore, the DPP NARPO website now has TWO Photo Albums.

To access photos posted on the website from October 2021 onwards go to the Menu Bar and click on NEW PHOTO ALBUM

To access photos posted on the website pre October 2021, go to the Menu Bar and click on OLD PHOTO ALBUM.

NARPO CALLS FOR ACTION ON AGE-RELATED PENSION DISCRIMINATION

NARPO has urged the Government to ensure the retired are treated the same as those of working age, when resolving pension discrimination.

This follows the 2018 Court of Appeal’s judgment that found the Government had discriminated against public sector workers in their policy of transitional protection, which was part of the 2015 reforms to public service pension schemes.

Following this case, the Government said it would be adopting a ‘deferred choice underpin’ approach, offering affected members a choice between legacy and reformed scheme benefits.

However, it has since become clear that pension scheme members who have already retired will now have to wait at least a further two years to see the discrimination they have suffered remedied.

Unlike members still working, those who can now retire will receive the pension of their choice immediately, however, those members who have already retired are being asked to wait while pension legislation passes through the Houses of Parliament and pension schemes are able to act on it. This is predicted to be around October 2023.

NARPO is calling for this to be rectified as soon as possible to avoid individuals having to live on a reduced pension and suffer for further years.

Chief executive Steve Edwards said: “There is no logical reason why those already retired cannot have their cases dealt with as soon as practicably possible. The original judgement from the courts on this matter found that there had been age-based discrimination, to continue to deny retired members the pension they have earned is not in keeping with the spirit of that judgment.

“That’s why we have called on the Treasury to urgently look at this issue and stop this continued discrimination against older retired public sector workers.”