The Civil Service Commission has told members of Tynwald it aims to have fully implemented corrective action regarding the Principal Civil Service Pension Fund by the end of the year.

But it is warning that rests on a number of issues, namely funding, consultations with unions and how they pan out, and "to some extent the progress of schemes in Tynwald".

Earlier this week the commission said legal advice, which has confirmed the Island should have fallen into line with amendments made to the United Kingdom version of the pension sceme from October 2002, cost over ?40,000.

At this stage no figure is being offered on how much money the "corrective action" will involve.

The Commission says scheme members are being sent letters and later this year
"all relevant public servants who were in post before October 2002 will need to be offered the choices afforded at that time".

The choices are to stay in the current scheme, join the new scheme but retain their current provisions up to October 1, 2002 or transfer all their previous service into the new provisions.

However, says the commission, it is not in a position to conduct the exercise at present.

The commission also hopes to bring to the June sitting of Tynwald a scheme to give legal effect to the benefit provisions made outside of the UK PCS PS.

Many complicating factors will have to be addressed, including staff who have left and taken the pension then on offer with them.