Member

The rationale for these generous pensions is that the public sector is paid less well than the private sector. However, that is out of date. Median gross employee earnings in 2025 were £34,943 in the public sector and £32,376 in the private sector. The opposite is still true at the top, but most senior public sector workers, in my experience, have better working conditions, more job interest, more security and possibly more ability to pick up work post-retirement. Above all, their earnings, which were historically linked to final salary—only recently changed to career average—puts them in a very privileged position vis-à-vis their private sector counterparts.