UK households are now each exposed to the equivalent of £203,000 in public sector pension liabilities, according to new projections by former Bank of England economist Neil Record.
Mr Record calculates that total public sector pension liabilities have risen to £5.8trillion, up from £4.9trillion in the 2023–24 financial year.
The increase means the estimated per-household share has jumped from £173,000 to £203,000.
The figure is based on dividing the pension liabilities by the approximately 28.6 million households in the UK, using Office for National Statistics data.
These inflation-protected pension benefits for state employees are forecast to reach £5.8trillion by the end of the current financial year, according to Mr Record.
State employees accumulate retirement benefits calculated on their average earnings and receive guaranteed payments adjusted for inflation throughout retirement.
The arrangements previously operated on a final salary basis until reforms in 2015 aimed at reducing expenses.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently unveiled a £4.7billion tax change targeting salary sacrifice arrangements, though fundamental public sector pension provisions remain untouched.
Britain’s public sector pension bill rises to £203,000 per home
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The Budget modifications will reduce the National Insurance exemption on pension contributions to £2,000 from 2029, with analysis from AJ Bell suggesting a 35-year-old on £50,000 could lose £22,000 from their retirement fund by age 65.
These alterations primarily impact private sector employees, whilst public sector staff face consequences only on voluntary additional contributions.
Critics have condemned the escalating pension obligations as unsustainable and unfair to future generations.
Mr Record stated: “The burden now facing taxpayers is out of control. Not only is Rachel Reeves heaping more taxation on millions of ordinary working people, the Government is continuing to allow a privileged pension elite public sector workers to mortgage taxpayers’ futures by heaping higher and higher future public sector pension costs on them.”
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Taxpayer expenses have already increased substantially
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He argued that the schemes’ “extraordinary generosity” creates labour market distortions and is “both morally and economically indefensible to expect future generations of taxpayers to pay for pensions they won’t and can’t have themselves.”
Angus Hanton from the Intergenerational Foundation described the situation as “a betrayal of younger people.”
Taxpayer expenses have already increased substantially, with NHS employer pension contributions rising from 20.6 per cent to 23.7 per cent in April 2024, adding £3.5billion to annual costs.
Teachers’ pension contributions similarly jumped from 23.6 per cent to 28.6 per cent, creating nearly £2billion in additional yearly expenditure.
Private sector employees typically receive employer pension contributions of just three per cent
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By comparison, private sector employees typically receive employer pension contributions of just three per cent.
Mr Hanton argued that “The private sector has totally moved away from defined benefit pensions because they’re unaffordable.”
A Treasury spokesperson disputed the analysis, stating: “We do not recognise this figure. It is inaccurate to suggest that unfunded Public Service Pension Schemes are unaffordable.”
The Treasury cited Whole of Government Accounts showing public service pension liabilities at £1.3trillion.