Civil Service | Senior Money Memos

When so many, and in particular pensioners, are suffering world-wide in the global financial crisis, it is almost unbelievable to see the UK Telegraph’s story Gordon Brown to scrap final salary pensions for MPs.

Gold-plated final salary pensions for MPs could be scrapped, under plans put forward by Gordon Brown. The Prime Minister has called for an investigation into how MPs’ retirements are funded because he fears they are becoming too expensive for the taxpayer. MPs are still able to retire with large, taxpayer-funded, pension pots.

The move by Mr Brown could eventually allow politicians to propose scrapping all public-sector final salary schemes, currently enjoyed by millions including civil servants, council employees and health workers. The current total liability of public-sector pensions to the taxpayer is officially estimated at £650 billion, but the Government has been unable to look at reforming the system while MPs still enjoy the same benefits.

If you are unaware of this situation, you may wish to read the full article and then consider which of the following best describes your reaction on reading this:

This just cannot be true. It must be an early April Fool’s item.
How can a Labour government not have canned this privileged pensions boondoggle years ago?
Why did Tony Blair not refuse his additional grace-and-favour pension (possibly over £64,000 a year) as Gordon Brown has done?
Why does it need to be studied?
What about all those UK pensioners who live in poverty?

Perhaps you have some other reaction to these UK MPs Gold-plated Pensions. If so, please add a comment and tell us all what you think.

Brown seeks MPs’ pension review (guardian.co.uk)

Technorati Tags: Civil service, gordon brown, Labour, Tony Blair

yesminister

Some have pointed to the link between the global financial crisis and a general acceptance of corruption at high levels. In that light, today’s item from the UK Daily Mail is a real embarrassment for the UK politicians. It suggests that Extraordinary freebies are enjoyed by Britain’s mandarins.

Extraordinary details of the lavish hospitality enjoyed by top civil servants have been exposed. Senior mandarins were wined and dined by blue-chip companies and treated to days at the races, nights at the opera and tickets to major sporting events. Sir Brian Bender, one of the highest-ranking men in Whitehall, accepted invitations to 52 events - an average of one a week.

Remember that the same newspaper at the end of January was headlining the bonuses that Cabinet civil servants had received, so it would not appear that they really need the freebies.

Cabinet Office mandarins last year pocketed almost £ 1million in bonuses, it has emerged. The senior civil servants received an average bonus of almost £9,300 each last year. A total of 105 payouts were given at a cost to the taxpayer of £972,500. The scale of the Whitehall bonus culture was met with dismay by campaigners, at a time when many workers fear losing their jobs in the recession.

We are living through extraordinary times and certainly it is not the time for business as usual. Equally one would hope that we can get away from government as usual if this is the way it has been conducted.

A top Whitehall mandarin’s days out (guardian.co.uk)
List details civil service freebies (guardian.co.uk)

Technorati Tags: bonuses, Civil service, Daily Mail, freebies, mandarins, Whitehall

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UK MPs Gold-plated Pensions Under Serious Review

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