Taxpayers face a £30 billion annual bill to fund pension promises made to the UK's public services, more than twice the officially accepted cost, according to a renowned pensions expert.
The politicians and civil servants making pension policy want to retain the status quo. After all, they have public sector pensions too. Ministers, meanwhile, can hand out state jobs, with super-attractive retirement plans, knowing the future pension costs don’t count as part of the national debt.
In his final budget last year, Gordon Brown revealed £16bn of official extra borrowing. Buried in the footnotes was an additional £45bn of public sector pension costs. To repeat, £45bn was the incremental increase in a single year. The total public sector pension liability is now some £1,000bn – that’s right, one trillion pounds. And it’s all “off the books”.
Why does my binman, streetsweeper, gardener and Traffic Warden all have to fully fund their own public sector pensions whilst the less deserving get early retirement, unfunded pensions and huge retirement packages on the public purse?
Until the government has to account for pensions, and many other things, in the same way that companies do, and have those figures audited, you cannot believe a single figure they publish. The true figure will always be worse, and sometimes many times worse.
Politics is the perfect refuge for thieves and liars.
Originally posted by Zabbs: Why does my binman, streetsweeper, gardener and Traffic Warden all have to fully fund their own public sector pensions whilst the less deserving get early retirement, unfunded pensions and huge retirement packages on the public purse?
Because those were the terms and conditions of employment. When I was a Civil Servant, I knew I was paid badly but would get a good pension.
What you should be asking is why these other people were so badly treated by their greedy employers.
Will you now complain about the terms and conditions of Fat Cat bosses, politicians, City workers, Bankers and other spongers?
