The government has published the Public Service Pensions Bill 2013, which ministers said will reduce public service pension costs by half and deliver £65bn savings over the next 50 years to deliver long-term sustainability while ensuring public service pensions remain at the best standard.

Under the bill public sector workers will move to career average pension schemes which levels out ‘unfair’ DB schemes. In addition, the bill links normal pension age to the state pension age so workers will have to work longer to receive a full pension, with the exception of the Armed Forces, police officers and firefighters.

The bill will close ‘generous and outdated’ Great Offices of State pensions for new office holders and move to a scheme equivalents to those of ministers.

Workers who are within 10 years from their normal pension age on 1 April 2012 will be protected and won’t see any changes in when they retire or the amount of pension they receive.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: "This Bill is the final stage in delivering sustainable public service pensions. It will cut the cost to taxpayers by nearly half, whilst ensuring that public sector workers, rightly, continue to receive pensions amongst the very best available. This is a good deal for taxpayers and a good deal for public service workers: a settlement for a generation."

Unions recently threatened with industrial actions over issues including public sector pensions and this bill.

The Public and Commercial Services union’s general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “We intend to fight this bill politically but we also believe that co-ordinated industrial action is still necessary on pensions as well as pay.”

Serwotka said this industrial action will be held as soon as possible after TUC anti-austerity protests on October 20. Teachers are launching a campaign of industrial action from September 26 over pension reforms, pay and workload, and other issues.

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