Maybe it’s a subtle plan to shift older-ish workers out of employment so younger people can get their jobs. If senior doctors all parachute out at 55 there’s space for all those hard-pressed junior doctors to move up.
Theophrastus
Yes, it could be pension incentives, Tim. But I am more inclined to believe that she was edged out because of her utter incompetence and that the praise and honours heaped upon her are the price for her discretion, if not silence. I suspect that there is more to this than meets the eye.
Andrew M
If she stops making any pension contributions, her marginal rate will be the same 45% (+NI) as any other £150k+ earner. Why would it ever be 70%?
Mr Ecks
Theo is spot on.
The way the useless, evil cow has gone from one very public disaster to another and had still not been side-lined or given gardening leave is itself very odd. Mass cock-ups and failure that nobody found out about? Then her “career” would be par for the course. Repeated public disaster but still keeps on? Odd even for the SCS.
Maybe they think themselves so secure that no one can touch them, regardless of how useless and expensive their endless failures are.
Alastair Harris
Perhaps this explains why George raised the minimum pension age from 50.
TomJ
I know at least one LT Col who will be taking this into account when making future career decisions…
So Much For Subtlety
So did she demand a gong as the price of going quietly? Or does she know where the bodies are buried?
It looks a little coincidental.
Theophrastus
SMFS
Of course, she knows where the bodies are buried. I have kept an eye on this ghastly woman’s career ever since her unimpressive (to put it mildly) four years as CEO of Suffolk County Council. Like all lightweight turds, she floated to the top.
The problem is that in the civil service, you accrue a Defined Benefit pension. I don’t think she has any choice about this, so she can’t just stop making pension contributions (not least as a lot of it is contributed by the employer, so a cessation would be an effective pay cut).
Any benefits over the lifetime allowance are taxed at 25% or 55%, before application of the usual taxes that would apply.
Of course one interesting detail from all of this is that those pen pushers with fat DB pensions get their golden pots valued at just 1:20 for the purpose of the pension limit. Try achieving a 5% yield on your DC pension annuity… They awarded themselves the best pensions, and awarded themselves an effective tax threshold almost a third higher than all real workers.
Maybe it’s a subtle plan to shift older-ish workers out of employment so younger people can get their jobs. If senior doctors all parachute out at 55 there’s space for all those hard-pressed junior doctors to move up.
Yes, it could be pension incentives, Tim. But I am more inclined to believe that she was edged out because of her utter incompetence and that the praise and honours heaped upon her are the price for her discretion, if not silence. I suspect that there is more to this than meets the eye.
If she stops making any pension contributions, her marginal rate will be the same 45% (+NI) as any other £150k+ earner. Why would it ever be 70%?
Theo is spot on.
The way the useless, evil cow has gone from one very public disaster to another and had still not been side-lined or given gardening leave is itself very odd. Mass cock-ups and failure that nobody found out about? Then her “career” would be par for the course. Repeated public disaster but still keeps on? Odd even for the SCS.
Maybe they think themselves so secure that no one can touch them, regardless of how useless and expensive their endless failures are.
Perhaps this explains why George raised the minimum pension age from 50.
I know at least one LT Col who will be taking this into account when making future career decisions…
So did she demand a gong as the price of going quietly? Or does she know where the bodies are buried?
It looks a little coincidental.
SMFS
Of course, she knows where the bodies are buried. I have kept an eye on this ghastly woman’s career ever since her unimpressive (to put it mildly) four years as CEO of Suffolk County Council. Like all lightweight turds, she floated to the top.
@Andrew M
The problem is that in the civil service, you accrue a Defined Benefit pension. I don’t think she has any choice about this, so she can’t just stop making pension contributions (not least as a lot of it is contributed by the employer, so a cessation would be an effective pay cut).
Any benefits over the lifetime allowance are taxed at 25% or 55%, before application of the usual taxes that would apply.
Rational Anarchist,
Thanks for the explanation. That also explains this article, which didn’t provide enough detail: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/pensions/12092043/Top-public-sector-earners-demanding-even-higher-wages-to-compensate-pension-tax-relief-cuts.html
Of course one interesting detail from all of this is that those pen pushers with fat DB pensions get their golden pots valued at just 1:20 for the purpose of the pension limit. Try achieving a 5% yield on your DC pension annuity… They awarded themselves the best pensions, and awarded themselves an effective tax threshold almost a third higher than all real workers.