Gold-plated NHS pensions cost taxpayers £1bn a month
The NHS is paying out nearly £1bn a month in staff pensions – around four times the amount it spends on the average person's healthcare, figures show.
Retired members of the NHS Pension Scheme were paid £11,400 on average last year, with the total bill reaching £11.2bn. A further £757m was sent to 111,000 widows and dependants, according to the scheme's annual report.
By comparison, last year's NHS budgets for England and Wales were £181.7bn combined, or the equivalent of around £3,000 per resident.
NHS retirees are provided with guaranteed incomes for life that rise annually with inflation, many of which are based on the recipient's final salary.
Almost 2,000 NHS staff already receive pensions of over £100,000 – a figure that has more than doubled in a year.
And the Government has already handed over an extra £2.8bn per year since 2019 to help employers with the spiralling cost of gold-plated schemes.
Taxpayers also paid £13.7bn in pension contributions for NHS workers, but Telegraph analysis of the report suggests this will hit £16bn for 2024 to 2025.
John O'Connell, of TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'It will shock patients and taxpayers beyond belief the extent to which the NHS budget is devoted to feathering the nests of its often pampered employees.
'The productivity data on the health service is appalling, demonstrating that far too many in the system see employment as an easy pay day rather than as the vital public service that it should be.
'Public sector pensions in the NHS and beyond need a complete overhaul with new staff moved onto a defined contribution scheme, ensuring fairness for both staff and taxpayers.'
NHS workers pay between 5.2pc and 12.5pc of their salary towards a pension, with employer contributions rising to 23.7pc in April last year.
The previous rise in employer contributions – implemented in 2019 – has cost the Government £14bn over five years.
Under current rules, high-earning workers can pay up to £60,000 a year into their pension before triggering a tax charge.
Many NHS doctors who also work privately are in danger of exceeding this amount. Experts warned that this had led to them turning down work or retiring early to avoid unexpected tax charges.
However, Helga Pile, of Unison, said that many NHS pensions were below average.
She said: 'The figures are nothing like the true picture for many NHS workers, as they're skewed by higher-paid doctors and consultants.
'For much of the workforce, the reality is a pension lower than the NHS average. Many on the bottom pay grades are leaving the scheme entirely because they can't afford it.
'But if we want people to work in the NHS and deliver public services, it's only right for them to expect a decent income when they retire. Particularly when health workers have seen their pay eroded for a decade and more.'
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'This comparison is misleading as it compares two fundamentally different things – earned pension entitlements from decades of public service versus annual healthcare spending for the entire population.
'NHS pensions are part of the total reward package that has helped build and maintain our healthcare workforce over many years.'
During her time in office, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already signed off on pay rises of up 22pc for junior doctors to ward off further strikes.
She has also given a proposed 2.8pc pay increase the green light for 2024 to 2025, but the British Medical Association criticised the figure and warned of more walkouts if pay erosion was not addressed.
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