Ministers and Whips will be paying up to 16% in contributions from today, while cabinet ministers could be paying nearly 18%, Minister Francis Maude announced today, making their contributions one of the highest in the public sector.
By 2014 to 2015, ministers’ pension contributions will have increased by up to 6 percentage points since 2011 to 2012.
From 1 April 2014:
- Secretaries of State, the Leader of the Opposition in the Commons and the Speaker in the House of Lords will pay an additional 1.2 percentage points of pay, a total of 6 percentage points higher than 2011 to 2012
- Ministers of State, the Government Chief Whip, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lords, the Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords and the Deputy Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords will pay an additional 0.8 percentage points of pay, a total of 4 percentage points higher than 2011 to 2012
- Parliamentary Under Secretaries, the Government Whips and Opposition Whips will pay an additional 0.5 percentage points of pay, a total of 2.5 percentage points higher than 2011 to 2012
- The changes mean an average contribution increase of 4.2 percentage points since 2012, which is higher than the average 3.2 percentage points increase in other public service schemes.
Francis Maude said:
"As part of our long term economic plan this government has reformed public service pensions so they are fair to both public sector workers, and hardworking taxpayers.
Ministers are not exempt. All ministers took a 5% pay cut at the start of this government, and a 5-year pay freeze. Under these changes we are asking them to pay more into their pensions."
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