THE civil service is seeing a boom of six-figure annual pensions for retirees — amid warnings the system is unsustainable.
The number of ex-bureaucrats on more than £100,000 a year has trebled in the last three years, going up from 71 to 216.
And those living on a five-figure sum above £50,000 has more than doubled in that time, rising to 6,701.
The Civil Service Pension Scheme now costs taxpayers £6.8billion per year, up by £857million in two years.
Total annual payouts stand at £8.7billion, and eligible pen-pushers have £197billion in pension promises.
Mandarins receive inflation-linked pensions for life.
Their pots depend on a 29 per cent employer contribution, almost ten times the private sector minimum.
A Freedom of Information request by The Telegraph found the surge of six-figure awards is being fuelled by long-serving officials retiring and a 1.7 per cent inflation uplift in April.
The Adam Smith Institute says the system is “structurally unsustainable” and “out of step with the rest of the economy”, warning today’s working Brits are on the hook via future tax.
Despite planning major civil service reform, Labour relaxed rules in July allowing “golden goodbyes” of up to £100,000 without Treasury sign-off.
Meanwhile, total public sector pension liabilities are calculated to hit £5.8trillion this year.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson stressed that six-figure sums are “less than 0.03 per cent” of the total.
TILES OF CASH
HOME improvement firm Topps Tiles has seen rising sales for its fifth quarter in a row.
Like-for-like purchases increased 2 per cent in the three months to December 27.
Total group sales, excluding its CTD tiling brand, lifted 3.7 per cent year-on-year — outperforming the market, though sales growth has slowed since October.
Shares rose 4 per cent yesterday after the update.
CARILLION RAP
TWO former finance directors of collapsed firm Carillion have been fined by the City watchdog after acting “recklessly” before its high-profile demise eight years ago.
The Financial Conduct Authority said Richard Adam and Zafar Khan were “aware of serious financial troubles in the firm’s construction business but failed to alert the board and audit committee”.
They were fined £232,800 and £138,900 respectively.
GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
AGILITY TRAINS has revealed it banked £380million in profits from rolling stock over the past two years — as the train operators it leases to suffer huge losses.
Agility supplies Hitachi trains to Great Western Railway and London North Eastern Railway.
But amid soaring bills, GWR has slipped from healthy profits to needing £428million in taxpayer support, while LNER is losing £88million a year despite £93million aid.
The Department for Transport says the creation of state-owned Great British Railways will save £150million a year.
