This posting provides the AMIPP perspective on some recent message board issues - policy, judicial background, altered message board facilities, volunteering, etc.
Nobody makes a living from promoting the interests of UK occupational pensioners. The budget of the sole national organisation focussed on those interests, the Occupational Pensioners' Alliance (OPA) is roughly a thousandth of the budget of NAPF, which represents the companies and the professionals who make a living off pension funds. The individual member associations, like AMIPP, which comprise OPA will mostly have even smaller budgets. It is unrealistic to expect occupational scheme members' interests to get lobbying and media space comparable with the corporate viewpoint. Although things could change, AMIPP is small organisation, with a corresponding policy.
The mainstream of its policy is, as the Home page has always highlighted, "keeping you informed". For the broad picture, this is done with the web pages, the newsletters, and message board comments. In this area of policy we have had more plaudits than criticism.
The second plank of policy is to obtain for you legal opinion, about the level of consumer protection of the bargain you worked for. This is being done through the only inexpensive route available, the Ombudsman's Office. It is unsatisfactory for everyone, including the Ombudsman's Office and the respondents, that Trust law is proving to be unclear, so that this investigation has taken several times as long as the norm for complaints. (One beneficial by-product is that the time has allowed for build-up of expertise within AMIPP about the issues of Trust law, key past cases, and the stresses on the Ombudsman's Office such as disagreement with judges about Parliament's intentions; we aim to inform you on these topics in the normal way but are partially constrained by the confidentiality of Ombudsman investigations.) AMIPP policy is to wait for the first determination before deciding "what next?"
A consequence of the policy is that AMIPP can be seen as existing for years and achieving nothing. (A more informed scheme membership is perhaps an achievement in itself, and AMIPP may have played a part in getting members' views expressed in Trustee directors meetings, but in themselves these achievements have not fortified pensions. Similarly, informing MPs and providing input to the Government's consultations may not have produced immediate results.)
Current AMIPP policy is both a choice, and a necessity at the moment. The choice is to wait so that there is a clear distinction between campaigning about the illegality of what Armonk has imposed and (if necessary) campaigning about it being unethical. AMIPP is pro-scheme-member, not anti-IBM. That emphasis may have to change, but to be effective it will need a change of resources.
Almost all small voluntary organisations are short of volunteers. Many of you will have experience of organised sport or charities where this is the case This is no surprise - working people have to give an increasing amount of time to their work, and most people volunteer on the basis that they hope for eventual replacement by a next generation of volunteers. AMIPP welcomes all the proposals for improvements in what it should do, and there are many such in the archives. However, even where suggestions are obviously beneficial and practical, the assessment of benefit relative to good use of effort will be one for the implementors to decide. (By the way, both our webmaster and secretary have one-person commercial enterprises to sustain, as well as providing AMIPP with their "spare" time.)
This note re-affirms policy, but is not disdainful about alternatives. Nothing prevents your using the message board to organise separate efforts. Nothing prevents AMIPP becoming very different after the determination. There will be a messy period when only some complaints have been investigated and there may be appeals. We encourage you to think in terms of the approaches that will be relevant after that, bearing in mind the constraints for a voluntary organisation.
(With AMIPP chairman hat on)