PensionsWatch 2015

Employees in company pension schemes have seen their pension arrangements become less generous in recent years, but executives continue to enjoy substantial retirement benefits, says the TUC in its latest annual PensionsWatch.

The average employer contribution to senior executives’ pensions in the last year was 34.1 per cent of their salary. Given how high executive salaries are these payments can be enormous, and in some cases the contribution is more than 50 per cent of the salary.

By contrast, the typical employer contribution for a worker in a defined contribution pension scheme is just 6.1 per cent. This is the most common type of scheme for workers and it carries more risk than a defined benefit scheme.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: ““Dramatic differences in pension provision mean that pay inequalities are amplified in retirement.”