Pension report dismissed as ‘a red herring’

A pressure group has hit out, claiming that taxpayers will be left footing the bill for the increase in pension pay-outs.

North Yorkshire Police paid out pensions to 1,658 retired officers last year at a time when it employed 1,663, a difference of only five officers, according to a report from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy for April 1, 2007.

But a North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said the figures had all been based on estimates and might not be accurate.

The Taxpayer's Alliance say taxpayers are the ones being forced to meet the cost of police pensions and has also criticised the police service's final salary pension scheme, which allows officers to retire after 30 years' service, often before they reach 50.

Philip Booth, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: "It allows, in a society of increasing longevity, police to retire much earlier than private sector workers. The cost of providing these pensions is very expensive. This is a huge burden for taxpayers."

Mr Booth said there should be a reform of police pensions and suggested higher wages and smaller pension pay-outs may be a solution.

But Mark Botham, chairman of the North Yorkshire branch of the Police Federation, said the report was a "red herring put out by the Government" to distract from the on-going row over police pay.

He said money which had been previously set aside by North Yorkshire Police to fund pensions had been moved elsewhere in the medium-term financial plan because it was not needed.

The report shows North Yorkshire Police are expected to pay out £81,605,000 in wages to officers in 2007-2008, including £3,224,000 in overtime.

Eight North Yorkshire Police officers are expected to retire due to ill health in 2007-2008.

In East Yorkshire, the number of police pensioners far outweighs serving officers, according to the report. Humberside Police have an estimated 1,326 serving officers - but 1,958 retired officers claiming their pensions.