The government will cut two-thirds of the pension of defense employees, if they work in the civilian sector after their military career ends. The cut comes into effect if they earn more than NOK 118,620 annually. – People consider whether it pays to continue in the Armed Forces, says Jonas Nymo. He currently works as a commander at Porsangmoen in Finnmark. He enjoys and is passionate about his job, but is now considering his future in the defense if the pension scheme is introduced. – We will try to survive in a time that is only getting more and more expensive. Nymo therefore fully understands that colleagues will look to a civilian job, which can offer better arrangements than what is currently proposed at the Norwegian Armed Forces. He believes the proposal could weaken the country’s defense capability, if it is adopted. – It goes without saying that if we lose people, we lose expertise. And then we also lose the ability to solve our tasks. So there is a serious reason why they are going on like this here, he says. DEFENSE CAPACITY: Jonas Nymo believes the government should take over the fact that many employees are now considering whether or not to stay in the Armed Forces. He believes it could go beyond the country’s ability to defend itself. Photo: PRIVAT Worse for the elderly It also worries Nymo that his older colleagues have to make new plans for their retirement, so shortly before they are actually due to retire. – They have almost lost the basis for a pension overnight, he says. Nymo does not understand that Employment and Inclusion Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) can say that you should be able to work as long as you want. Former defense employees, who want to contribute to value creation in society, may now end up as minimum pensioners, he explains. RE-EVALUATING: Several defense personnel are now re-evaluating their entire military career, after the proposal to shorten it was put forward, says Jonas Nymo. Photo: Sissel Vibeke Amundsen / The Norwegian Armed Forces Thinks the Norwegian Armed Forces is the loser Befalets Fellesorganisation (BFO) shares Nymo’s concern. – What is most startling about the new arrangement is the short horizon before any changes come into effect, says deputy chairman Lars Ullensvang. He explains that military personnel are the only group in the state barred from working for a long time to earn a better pension. According to Ullensvang, the pension scheme may lead to many opting out of the Armed Forces. – It is the Armed Forces that lose out when expertise disappears. We already know that the defense has challenges with personnel, and the new arrangement does not contribute to solving these. Ullensvang also believes that it can have more negative consequences than lost competence. – The armed forces must spend ever greater resources on regenerating competence. That means increased costs and an even greater challenge, because they not only have to recruit to grow, but to maintain their size, he says. He also fears that the Armed Forces will discover that such an arrangement does not work, after personnel with high competence have changed pastures. Ergo, too late. FINANCIAL LOSS: The Commanders’ Joint Organization believes that the proposal for a new arrangement will lead to increased costs for the Armed Forces, if highly competent personnel leave the Armed Forces. Photo: Øyvind Førland Olsen / Offisersbladet Needs more State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Marie Lamo Vikanes (Sp), says that the Defense is taking steps to ensure that more people stay. Among other things, they equip homes, which means a lot to the employees. They also train and hire more people. – We have good people in the Armed Forces and we need more in the coming years, says Lamo Vikanes. PERSONNEL: State Secretary Marie Lamo Vikanes says that the Norwegian Armed Forces need more employees in the coming years. Photo: Asgeir Spange Brekke / Ministry of Defense Securing the pension level Defense employees are currently obliged to resign at a special age limit. It is lower than the normal retirement age, which is 67 years. State Secretary in the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion, Thomas Norvoll, says that the new pension agreement emphasizes securing those who are about to reach the special age limit. – The pension levels of those who leave working life early due to special age limits are secured, rather than the possibility of combining a full pension with continued work in the private sector, says Norvoll. He adds that the government aims to use the skills of those who resign, to a greater extent than is done today. The proposal for a new pension agreement will go up for consultation in the Storting in 2024. EXPERTISE: The government wants to use the expertise of defense employees who are retiring to a greater extent in the future. Photo: regjeringen.no The most important resource At Porsangmoen, commander Jonas Nymo sighs in frustration and explains what he himself believes is most important when all is said and done. – We can have as many tanks, frigates and aircraft as we want, but someone has to control them. It is we who wear the field boots, who show up every single day, who work 1.4 full-time equivalents a year throughout an entire working career, who really mean something. Nymo thinks it is an incredible shame that very basic arrangements such as pay and pension should be the thing that chases personnel away from the Armed Forces. BFO deputy chairman Lars Ullensvang agrees with this point of view. – Put at the forefront, it is people who must defend our country.
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