A new report from the National Audit Office into civil service pensions has been welcomed by the Prospect union, which it says has brought clarity to an often controversial subject.
The report presents figures as part of an annual percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
"When viewed in terms of percentage of GDP and thereby an indication of the country's ability to pay, projected costs look set to rise from 1.7% of GDP today to a peak of 1.9% in 18-19 years' time and then back down to 1.7% by 2059-60, " said Prospect Pensions Officer Neil Walsh.
Prospect said the report goes a long way to debunk the mistruths often perpetuated about the affordability of public sector pensions.
Walsh also claimed, "the NAO have brought clarity to a issue which other partisan groups often seek to bury in alarming multi-billion pound liability figures.
"The report makes it clear that public sector pensions are far from being the unsustainable burden on current or future generations of taxpayers they are often portrayed as. This doesn't even allow for all the effects of the public sector reforms agreed in 2007 which have had the desired effect of limiting future taxpayers' liabilities."
Walsh said that the figures reveal the average civil service pension to be under £6,000pa but that many of his members are paying more for the benefits: "the average civil servant contribution is 59% higher than 10 years ago," he said.
From Whitehall Watch
From Bubb's Blog
From Flip Chart Fairy Tales
