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The largest pensions paid to civil servants have been revealed - and they range between £109,127 and £132,958 per year.
Those pensions are the result of a Final Salary Scheme known as the Public Employees Contributory Retirement Scheme (PECRS) which was closed to new entrants at the end of 2015, prompting a legal dispute between the States Employment Board and firefighters.
The dispute centres on a claim by the firefighters’ union – the Fire and Rescue Service Association (FRSA) – that its members deserve recompense after being left worse off when their pension scheme was changed.
The SEB’s latest attempt to defend themselves has been left in tatters by the Royal Court’s finding that the employer did indeed act “unreasonably” in failing to properly engage with disgruntled firefighters left worse off under a new pension scheme.
Pictured: The SEB is embroiled in a dispute with firefighters over their pension scheme.
It has now emerged following a request under the Freedom of Information (FOI) law that pensions as high as £132,958 per annum are still being paid under PECRS.
In their reply, the Government said that pensions from the scheme are based on length of service and final salary. Over 70% of pensioners currently on the scheme receive a pension below £15,000 per annum, while the median pension is of £8,951 per year.
However, some pensioners are receiving a lot more than that, as the figures show. The five largest pensions in the Final Salary Scheme (PECRS) are as follows:
Less than 850 public servants closest to retirement continue to accrue service in the Final Salary Scheme, the government added.
Pictured: The distribution of pensions in the Public Employees Contributory Retirement Scheme (PECRS).
The Public Employees Contributory Retirement Scheme is part of the Public Employees Pension Fund (PEPF), which also includes a Career Average Scheme known as the Public Employees Pension Scheme (PEPS).
Only four pensions - £9,638, £3,013, £3,298 and £1,841 per annum - are currently being paid from the Career Average Scheme (PEPS). There are, however, over 5,000 public servants now accruing pensions based on career average earnings.
Teachers claim pensions under their own final salary pension scheme, the Jersey Teachers Superannuation Fund (JTSF). Over 60% of pensioners in JTSF receive a pension below £20,000 per annum, while the median pension is £18,738 per annum. However, the top pension being paid out is around four times that amount.
The five largest pensions in the JTSF Final Salary Scheme are as follows:
Pictured: Teachers are claiming pension under their own final salary pension scheme, the Jersey Teachers Superannuation Fund (JTSF).
High pensions among senior civil servants came under scrutiny when it was revealed that the former Chief Executive, John Richardson, had seen his pension pot rocket to just under £3million.
The details of the current CEO’s, Charlie Parker, pension have been kept under wraps, however.
Government officials were ordered to publish his contract under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law, following a seven-month battle by Express - but details of pension arrangements appeared to be redacted.
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