It is true that public sector pensions are generous because they are based on final salaries at a time when such private sector schemes are disappearing down the plughole.
But it is also true the average payment is about £4,000, reflecting the high number of lower-paid staff in the sector. And it is true that pushing local government employee contribution rates up to 11% on salaries of between £31,501 to £42,000 – just the middle income brac ket most squeezed by inflation and tax hikes – is an unnecessary and provocative act by the Government which has now had second thoughts.
