The Reform UK leader warned public pensions are the “biggest ticking time bomb” in government finances slammed what he termed a “pensions apartheid”.
Farage called for a crackdown on what he called a private sector pension ‘Ponzi scheme’. (Image: Getty)
Nigel Farage has demanded stringent measures against what he called public sector pension “Ponzi schemes” following revelations that council tax revenue is heavily financing staff retirement funds.
The outspoken politician labelled the favourable public pensions as the “biggest ticking time bomb” within government finances, condemning the stark contrast with private sector pensions as “pensions apartheid”.
The Reform UK leader is calling on the government to debte the issue which he claims has been continually overlooked by successive governments.
His comments come in the wake of new statistics showing that last year, £1 out of every £4 earned in council tax went towards local government pension schemes.
Farage told The Telegraph: “Public sector pensions are the single biggest ticking bomb in our government finances. It’s a massive, massive problem.
The Reform UK leaders said the scheme was causing ‘pension apartheid’. (Image: Getty)
“We can talk about GDP and the national debt, but none of that includes any guestimates as to what that will cost us [in pension payments] in 15 to 20 years’ time. We now have pensions apartheid between the private sector and public sector.
“There is a massive, massive gulf. They’re Ponzi schemes, all of them. We have to address it, we have to deal with it, but to date nobody has. By turning a blind eye for decades, we’ve given ourselves a massive problem.
“The country is going to need a lot of growth in the next few years if we’re going to have a chance of dealing with it. To start with, let’s have an honest debate about the size of the problem.”
A probe conducted by The Times revealed councils have shelled out close to £7 billion in contributions to these pensions in the past year, and the average household is forking out over £230 annually towards the pension scheme via their council tax bills.
It’s already been estimated that the UK is grappling with an eye-watering pensions bill of £4.9 trillion, landing at a hefty £173,000 per household.
Meanwhile, taxpayers have been left to foot a mammoth £208 billion bill over the last decade due to employees and employers’ contributions falling short of the sums paid to pensioners.
A spokesman from the Local Government Association tolf the outlet: “The Local Government Pension Scheme is the most robust public sector pension scheme.
“Compared with other major public sector pension schemes, the employer contribution rates are also generally much lower.”
A government spokesperson added: “Public sector pensions are an important part of the remuneration package for hard-working public sector workers and strike the right balance between rewarding them and being fair to the taxpayer.”
Most Popular Comments