Patsy McGlone 11th August 2010

McGlone: Top civil servants’ £75m pension pot

SDLP member of the Public Accounts Committee Patsy McGlone MLA has discovered that top senior servants across the 11 Stormont departments tasked with implementing the toughest public spending cuts in a generation will share a pension pot of £75million.

The Mid Ulster MLA obtained the figures following research by the SDLP amid concerns that those implementing the spending and staff cuts would be topping up already generous salaries with ‘golden handshakes’.

Mr McGlone said: "I'm sure it's very reassuring for 118, already well paid civil servants, to know they have a pension pot of £75 million. However, it's cold comfort for the average pensioner who, in most cases after stamping all their lives, gets a retirement pension amounting to £97.65 a week.

“These are tough times we're in. Last night I met with a group of people in the construction trade where many are now for the first time in their working lives out of work. The priority in any society should be looking after those on little or no income, rather than providing very comfortable post-retirement lifestyles for senior civil servants."
 

ENDS