Wes Streeting has faced backlash after the number of NHS retirees receiving six-figure pensions has skyrocketed. More than 3,000 former NHS workers are now getting paid in excess of £100,000 annually, which is ten times more than a decade ago.
The Health Secretary has come under fire from campaigners for the “gold-plated and unfunded” pensions that come from the “pockets of working taxpayers”. According to NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) figures, the most lucrative NHS pensions have risen astronomically over the last ten years. The number of retirees paid more than £50,000 stood at 47,267, a 15% increase on the previous year, and a huge jump from ten years ago when it was 19,886.
Those paid more than £100,000 stood at 3,126, a 63% increase on the previous year of 1,909, and more than ten times the amount a decade ago, at just 285 people.
Critics have warned of a financial crisis within a decade, when 2.5 million members could be expecting a pension, as NHSBSA figures show that NHS pensions cost around £12billion per year currently with 1.1 million staff eligible for payments.
John O’Connell, chief executive of campaign group, TaxPayers’ Alliance, called on Wes Streeting to move all new staff onto fully-funded, defined contribution schemes as part of his plan to “radically reform” the NHS.
He said: “There is now an extraordinary elite of NHS retirees who rake in massive pension payments every year, not paid out of retirement pots but instead out of the pockets of working taxpayers.
“That’s because NHS employees, like in much of the public sector, get access to gold-plated and unfunded defined benefit schemes which are now almost absent in the private sector.”
Pension pots are built through salary deductions from current NHS workers and top-up payments from central government. Higher earning employees, such as consultants, have to contribute 12.5% of their salary to be included in the scheme.
Government officials have attributed the huge increase in larger pensions to inflation because they are index-linked.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the Telegraph: “The NHS Pension Scheme provides generous retirement benefits for hard-working staff after a lifetime of service, and the scheme was comprehensively reformed in 2015 to ensure the costs are sustainable.
“Staff and employers are required to pay contributions that meet the full cost of the benefits being built up, with higher earners paying proportionately more than other members.”
