Is it time to tackle the public sector pensions time bomb?

[Agent Orange]

The major fiddle with these final salary pensions was that someone in a lowly rank suddenly got promoted to a high salary just before retirement ensuring that the tax payers got an even larger burden of paying towards public sector pensions.

 

That has never happened to any of my ex colleagues who retired whilst I have been in the civil service.

[milquetoast1]

The MPs voting to improve their pension scheme to a 1/40th one, at precisely the same time that the company I worked for, and many others, was sending out letters to inform employees that their scheme was being closed, was a bigger scandal than the expenses scandal imho.

 

[truman]

The MPs voting to improve their pension scheme to a 1/40th one, at precisely the same time that the company I worked for, and many others, was sending out letters to inform employees that their scheme was being closed, was a bigger scandal than the expenses scandal imho.

 

 

Yep,no matter who's holding the reigns it always seems like "Animal Farm" doesn't it?

[Boblet]

Yep,no matter who's holding the reigns it always seems like "Animal Farm" doesn't it?

 

as we used to say - it makes no difference who you vote for, the Government still gets in

[atticus]

Senior civil servants pay nothing towards their pension benefits, the 1.50% gross, is in respect of death in service costs.

 

If someone does pay 9%, this is probably 5.40% after 40% tax relief. How small should their contribution be, in order for them to retire at age 50/55 on a cracking inflation linked pension?

 

 

Local council workers who are members of the South Yorkshire Pension Scheme pay between 5.5% and 7.5% and i think this is due to be increased in April.

Incidentally the average anual pension is something like £2,500.Not all public sector pensions are "gold plated".

[eckerslike]

Perhaps if the last government hadn't increased public sector numbers by 1 million the country would have been in a better position to afford to pay their pensions.

[Mecky]

Labour won't do it, it would cost them votes. They'll leave it to the Tories to have to be the nasty party and sort out the mess Labour have made.

 

Yawn !!

[Farslad]

I work in the public sector and I pay into the pension scheme.

 

Now I understand the argument that the money going in doesn't equate to that going out.

 

However, I keep hearing the line "there is no pension fund". So what has been happening to the money I pay each week? What has that been used for?

[Longcol]

Up to £20709 = 6%

£20709 to £68392 = 6.50%

£68392 to £107846 = 7.50%

+ £107846 = 8.50%

 

Congratulations on being paid such a good salary for all those years.

 

What's happened is that everyone used to pay the same rate - so they've dropped the lowest rate contributions and upped them for the rest.

[Longcol]

I work in the public sector and I pay into the pension scheme.

 

Now I understand the argument that the money going in doesn't equate to that going out.

 

However, I keep hearing the line "there is no pension fund". So what has been happening to the money I pay each week? What has that been used for?

 

NHS & Civil Service pensions aren't backed by funds but are paid out of current government spending. Local Authority pensions are backed by pension funds.