‘We tackled fires for decades

Whether it was a serious crash, chimney fire or a cow trapped in a pond, when their pager went off, they were first on the scene.

Retained firefighters – predominantly based in rural areas with a lower population density than bigger cities – are on-call emergency responders who live near their local fire station and jump in an appliance when needed.

Yet despite decades of service, many were not entitled to a pension until recent years.

However some retirees say they are still waiting – not just for their pension, but for any clear indication of when it might arrive.

Among them is Roger Dunton, who says he is “probably the oldest” claimant at his local station in Leicestershire.

Standing in front of the bright red appliances at the Market Harborough station where he served the community for 28 years, he told the BBC his work saw him “running away from kids and parties, running away from Christmas dinners and all sorts”.

“Certainly, when I packed it all in, I realised how much of a commitment it was,” he said.

“Because then [after I retired from my firefighter job] we could plan things – with my kids and wife.

“It was more of a commitment than we actually realised at the time.”

The 78-year-old, who also acted as a union rep for the retained firefighters, says he does not regret anything but firmly believes they should all receive the money they are entitled to.

“Many people here gave it a 24-hour commitment,” he said.

“My biggest problem, being a union rep as well, was that a lot of people that I represented unfortunately are no longer with us.

“So I’m working with some of the widows to see if they’re entitled.”

Mr Dunton said the union fought for retained firefighters’ pensions in the 1990s without success.

But the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) then brought about 11,500 employment tribunal claims on behalf of the retained officers in 2000, which were ultimately approved in the House of Lords.

Further negotiations then took place, which were finally settled in 2015 and allowed retained firefighters to claim pensions dating back to 1 July 2000 but no earlier.

This prompted a separate case to challenge how far back a claimant could backdate access to a pension scheme at the European Court of Justice – and this was successful.

It set a precedent which gave the FBU an opportunity to re-enter negotiations.

Those negotiations ultimately resulted in a further change, which allowed retained firefighters who served between April 2000 and April 2006 to claim a pension for their entire career.

They still have to pay the pension contributions they would have made, but that bill can be taken off any final payment they are owed.

How much money that totals depends on factors such as the amount of time served, how busy their fire station was and what rank they attained.

The continuous battle of ensuring retained firefighters’ right to a pension is a “complex matter”, says the FBU’s national officer Mark Rowe.

“There’s another bit that moves on in court – something changes – and we’re back to the drawing board,” he added.

“One of the problems is that [the administration of pensions] used to be done in-house.

“When the cuts came, these were the first ones to go because they had to prioritise front-line response – so it’s a culmination of issues.

“Retained firefighters now have a right to claim back the pension money they were unjustly denied throughout their careers.

“However, in some cases, delays to employment tribunals continue to present an obstacle to our members receiving what they are owed in a timely manner.”

The West Yorkshire Pension Fund, which is the administrator for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, is also overseeing pensions for other brigades across the country, and said it was dealing with a “large number of cases relating to retained firefighters”.

“The calculations involved are often complex and require pay information going back over several years,” a spokesperson said.

“The majority of retained firefighters who are eligible for additional pension benefits have not yet paid into the scheme and will have the cost of membership deducted from their retirement benefits when these come into payment.

“All payments will be backdated and members will receive interest on the pension or lump sum arrears.

“We are increasing resource in this area and processing these cases as quickly as we can.”

Malcolm Moss joined Billesdon Fire Station in 1972, and retired as watch manager and station commander in 2008.

He said he was paid for six years of his 35-year-long career as a retained firefighter.

But the latest court ruling means he is now entitled to a pension for all his years of service, which would increase his pension to more than £130,000.

Mr Moss would need to pay £22,000 into the scheme from his lump sum to unlock the pension.

However with the lump sum yet to be awarded, he does not have access to the rest of his pension.

Mr Moss, who was given a commendation for saving a man’s life and appointed an MBE for his services, said: “We are very disappointed we had to come this far with our fight to get our rightful pensions.

“We’ve served Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland for all these years.”

Helen Phillips became the first female retained firefighter in Market Harborough in 1991.

Like others, she also had a full-time job. But when the pager rang, it was time to go.

“I was running my career alongside in agriculture,” she said.

“Those two jobs together don’t always work very well – being on call, trying to run away from livestock to fight a fire – but it worked.

“It’s a bug. Once you’ve got it, you do miss it.”

David Wilford, a former retained crew manager, served at the same station as Ms Phillips for 26 years and a month.

“My kids grew up knowing nothing else apart from me disappearing when my bleeper went off,” the 63-year-old said.

Ms Phillips, who retired in 2017, was still serving as a retained firefighter when she joined the pension scheme.

Initially, she was only allowed to buy back to 2006, but the new court ruling extended the period to 2000.

“The period that I’m owed is from 1991 to 2000,” she said. “We want to know what’s happening with it.

“We haven’t had much information at all. We feel a bit out on a limb.”

Mr Wilford said the stories he heard from other retained firefighters persuaded him to sign up.

So he kept a scrapbook for a while, but then he just lost count of all the stories that made Harborough memorable.

One of them stuck though – a report of an iguana stuck on the roof of a house.

“It was a metre-long iguana on this roof, and we were wondering how to get this blooming thing caught properly because by then, we’d got local press and everybody watching us,” said Mr Wilford with a chuckle.

“It’s not a job – it’s something you love to do.

“Once you’re in, it’s a pride in doing it. We did serve people in Harborough and we were recognised around the town for being the firemen that they know would come out in the middle of the night when they’re in trouble.”

Mr Wilford said he opted in when the second option came in, and said the extra money would make his retirement easier.

“I want the pension that I earned,” he added. “I’ve got another job, I work for an insurance company as well. I’m planning on only doing three days a week next year until I get to 67 and get my state pension.

“This would help me do less in my main job as I get older.”

A spokesperson for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue said they were aware of the issue.

They said: “This ruling has had national impact across different pension schemes, and is not something over which Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service has any influence.

“However we do support our former firefighters in their efforts to claim what they are entitled to.”

They added the administrators were due to issue a letter to those affected by the scheme in October.