To think public sector pensions should be slashed?

[Monwmum]

I'm probably going to be slated for even suggesting it....but in the private sector, high percentage final salary pensions were phased out in the early 2000s because they are a money pit and unsustainable. They were continued in the public sector as a sweetener because (apparently) public sector jobs were lower paid.

This simply isn't the case anymore. After years of frozen pay or meagre 1 or 2% pay increases in much of the private sector versus mainly regular inflation based pay increases in the public sector, this gap has been reduced if not closed completely. However, public sector pensions are still getting contributions of the high 20% figures while private sector pensions range from 4% -10%.

Quite a difference! Am I being unreasonable to say this would be a good place to start saving some of our tax money? And before people start saying there would be outrage just remember this was done to every private sector employee in the early 2000s so it can be done.

Your being unrealistic a lot of the public sector jobs are the toughest choices, the salaries aren't that great and the police as an example are overworked and underpaid, the pe sion at least is decent and they work hard for it. Taking away an incentive to join the force, they will become even more stretched.

I work for a local authority. Yes, there are some highly paid managers, but a huge % of our workforce are admin staff, non-teaching school staff, grounds maintenance, care staff, and non-professional technical officers.

We also employ a high % of women who are in job share or part-time roles.

Most of these are earning between 23-30k a year.

I think if you were to reduce their pension contributions, then the burden on the state at a later date via pension benefits would increase significantly.

I think you're missing the point made by all the people saying that loads and loads of public sector workers aren't even on final salary pensions any more. They were phased out in many areas years ago. Now you get a career average instead.

Yep. The pensions have already been slashed, and the salaries remain woeful.

Anyone who joined teaching teaching after 2007 - doesn't get the amazing final salary pension outlined in OP post. Anyone who joined teaching after 2007 doesn't have a great pension like it was under the legacy conditions. Granted the teacher pensions are better than many out there - but no longer what they were at all: it just looks a lot better compared to other really bad ones.

Cannot speak for other public sector jobs.

What, again. They've already been slashed .... mine was halved due to scheme changes!!!

They already are.

If DH worked in the private sector he would earn at least double his wages.
But as he is public sector his decent pension is the sweetener for doing his job.
For nearly 10 years from 2010 he only had a rise of 1%.

It seems as though people like you want public sector workers to only earn a pittence
and be grateful. Then have no pension.

Public sector pensions have massively changed also as has been said, but yes they're still very good. Probably too generous to be brutally honest, but anyone can apply for a public sector job, if you want one, go get one, it's one of the reasons I'm in the civil service.

Maybe if public sector employees were offered some of the perks that private sector employees were offered, ( not all, I am aware of that, but enough to make many private sector jobs more attractive) then public sector employees would not see a decent pension as the main only perk of their employment.

Private health cover, help with travel costs, car loan agreements, gym membership, clothing allowance, help with school fees these are all things that friends have been offered, and taken up, in the past. All in addition to a personal pension of course.

I think I was once offered the opportunity to have a loan to buy a bike!

Ironic post - as many pensioners are on the amazing golden final pension schemes that you mention in your OP and therefore do not need WFA.

I have a friend who has worked for her council for 40+ years & is still working.
Why should Her work pension be reduced ?
The state pension age is 66, 67, 68

She was hoping to start working part time for a few years, instead of full time.
I believe that this will reduce her work pension.

of course you could be a bot but Ihave decided that Mumsnet is full of harsh, judgemental people who fear straying from the norm and pay the blame game.Many of you simply have no idea how hard peoples lives are and want everything slashed, 'losers' punished, everyone has responsibility for themselves etc etc.In an ideal world yes but people are not on a level playing field.Class, race, sex, transgender, just a bit different, ugly, etc temperamen and family background have so much to do with how people thrive.Then you want hard earned pensions slashed.Since covid I have felt that things have changed and that people are even more selfish hidden behind their Amazon deliveries, their f..off headphones,their phones, their fear of talking to each other,Tik Tok,utter conformity and an inability to see that destination weddings, more than two kids. endless holidays costs the earth. They seem to have no idea that this world is changing big time.It will all go.Have some humility and stop trying to take away the pensions of those who serve.Better directed at government.I wont be missed as Im a weirdo no doubt but I will be back for the household tips.Its like Dickens on this site.jeez

Yes, we should slash them but Labour won't harm their paymasters.

Hopefully Reform will get in next time and do it.

Not a race to the bottom yes but private sector funds these bloated packages and as Labour keeps saying "money needs to be found from
Somewhere!"

Fully agree!

If they were self
Funded I would have no issue but private sector
Pays for them!

You’re welcome to take a job in the public sector and find out.

Why is it that public sector workers get so slammed all the time? So many amazing people working all hours for peanuts, and your begrudging them a fairly decent pension, which is basically the only perk…

The entire "Well it's tax money so we should underpay the civil service" argument is nonsense. It amounts to "civil servants should do it for love." Love doesn't pay the mortgage and the compensation package in the public sector needs to be roughly competitive with the private sector. otherwise you can't get decent workers.

I love the phrase “this is tax payers money being used” , as though not paying tax is something public sector employees manage to do without anyone noticing!

Retired but still a tax payer speaking, paying tax on my pension to support my former colleagues in the public sector.

I started work in NHS Since 80s so yep my pension is one of the better ones . I managed staff for about 30 yrs ran wards , covered hospital sites as senior nurse.
Worked public holidays, missed so many breaks , finished late most shifts .No hoists nor manual handling equipment when I started , beds didn't even go up .
Ive stood in a bath with a welly boot on and lifted an adult out the bath with another nurse , that was the norm .
My back shoulder and neck are knackered
I earned every penny of my pension .
My 28yr old dn earns 2 x what I earned in my best Yr not including the bonus .

‘versus mainly regular inflation based pay increases in the public sector’

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

that is exactly what you are advocating though.

This isn't how I understood it at all - I thought that meant for that every year I worked (which for me was only 2 and on a crap wage) I got 1/25th of my salary as pension. Totally willing to accept I am wrong I don't understand the link between 1/25 and 62.5 years - is there a formula?

@BarbaraHoward thank you for your post. I'm a public servant and somewhat shamefully I really struggle to get my head around pensions. People refer to a pensions pot and I knew I didn't have one but even though I went to a learning session I still didn't really understand why. Your post makes sense to me!

Can I ask where you're getting those figures from OP?