David Cameron and Nick Clegg: The cost of their recently appointed special advisers’ pensions
“So can we really ask them to keep paying their taxes into unreformed gold-plated public-sector pension pots? It’s not just unfair, it’s not affordable.” Nick Clegg, 14 June 2010
Tom Watson MP
Efficiency Briefing: Number 1
Introduction
Last Thursday, after a dismal performance in the chamber by Danny Alexander earlier in the week, the government caved into pressure and published the salary list of their newly appointed special advisers.
As well as showing a startling increase in the number of spin doctors working out of number 10, the publication showed that chief spin doctor Andy Coulson had been awarded a salary greater than that of the deputy prime minister.
What the publication didn’t show you was that on top of a £140K pay packet, Coulson is automatically entitled to a civil service pension – the same pension arrangements that Nick Clegg described yesterday as “gold plated…unfair…[and]…not affordable”. So on top of his £140K, the taxpayer could fund another £27,160 per year towards Mr Coulson’s retirement.
You have to look deep into the model contract for the employment of special advisers to see that the Tory special advisers are entitled to be automatically enrolled in the Nuvos civil service pension scheme. I’ve taken advantage of the new age of transparency to make freedom of information requests to every department to confirm that all special advisers have taken up this offer.
If you want to see the model contract, it can be found here.
A secure, final salary scheme pension is part of the deal when you join the public sector, where wages are traditionally lower than the private sector. For all we know, George Osborne, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will rely on family trust funds to get them through the latter years of worklessness.
They won’t have to rely on a second pension to supplement their state pension. Yet millions of civil servants will rely on the pension and they’ll be shocked at the “do as I say not as I do” attitude of the new team in downing street.
A £4million pension hypocrisy
Clegg’s announcement yesterday failed to explain that the personal and political appointments that he and David Cameron have made in the previous month are likely to cost the taxpayer over £4 million in pensions alone during the lifetime of this parliament.
Take a look at these figures to see the full breakdown.
The Cost of Clegg and Cameron’s Advisers
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| The Prime Minister | Andy Coulson | Within scheme ceiling | £140,000.00 | £4,900.00 | £27,160.00 | £1,960.00 | £167,160.00 | £29,120.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Edward Llewellyn | Within scheme ceiling | £125,000.00 | £4,375.00 | £24,250.00 | £1,750.00 | £149,250.00 | £26,000.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Kate Fall | PB4 | £100,000.00 | £3,500.00 | £19,400.00 | £1,400.00 | £119,400.00 | £20,800.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Jonny Oates | PB4 | £98,500.00 | £3,447.50 | £19,109.00 | £1,379.00 | £117,609.00 | £20,488.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Gabby Bertin | PB3 | £80,000.00 | £2,800.00 | £15,520.00 | £1,120.00 | £95,520.00 | £16,640.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Tim Chatwin | PB3 | £70,000.00 | £2,450.00 | £13,580.00 | £980.00 | £83,580.00 | £14,560.00 | |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| The Prime Minister | Steve Hilton | PB3 | £90,000.00 | £3,150.00 | £17,460.00 | £1,260.00 | £107,460.00 | £18,720.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Polly Mackenzie | PB3 | £80,000.00 | £2,800.00 | £15,520.00 | £1,120.00 | £95,520.00 | £16,640.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Henry Macrory | PB3 | £70,000.00 | £2,450.00 | £13,580.00 | £980.00 | £83,580.00 | £14,560.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | James O’Shaughnessy | PB3 | £87,000.00 | £3,045.00 | £16,878.00 | £1,218.00 | £103,878.00 | £18,096.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Liz Sugg | PB3 | £80,000.00 | £2,800.00 | £15,520.00 | £1,120.00 | £95,520.00 | £16,640.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Peter Campbell | PB2 | £60,000.00 | £2,100.00 | £11,640.00 | £840.00 | £71,640.00 | £12,480.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Sean Kemp | PB2 | £60,000.00 | £2,100.00 | £11,640.00 | £840.00 | £71,640.00 | £12,480.00 | |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| The Prime Minister | Gavin Lockhart | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| The Prime Minister | Michael Salter | PB2 | £65,000.00 | £2,275.00 | £12,610.00 | £910.00 | £77,610.00 | £13,520.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Rohan Silva | PB2 | £60,000.00 | £2,100.00 | £11,640.00 | £840.00 | £71,640.00 | £12,480.00 | |
| The Prime Minister | Sean Worth | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| The Prime Minister | James McGrory | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Lena Pietsch | PB3 | £80,000.00 | £2,800.00 | £15,520.00 | £1,120.00 | £95,520.00 | £16,640.00 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Richard Reeves | PB3 | £85,000.00 | Takes up post with effect from 5 July. | £2,975.00 | £16,490.00 | £1,190.00 | £101,490.00 | £17,680.00 |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Alison Suttie | PB3 | £80,000.00 | £2,800.00 | £15,520.00 | £1,120.00 | £95,520.00 | £16,640.00 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister | Chris Saunders | PB2 | £60,000.00 | £2,100.00 | £11,640.00 | £840.00 | £71,640.00 | £12,480.00 | |
| First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | Arminka Helic | PB3 | £70,000.00 | £2,450.00 | £13,580.00 | £980.00 | £83,580.00 | £14,560.00 | |
| First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | Denzil Davidson | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Ramesh Chhabra | PB2 | £60,000.00 | £2,100.00 | £11,640.00 | £840.00 | £71,640.00 | £12,480.00 | |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Rupert Harrison | PB3 | £80,000.00 | £2,800.00 | £15,520.00 | £1,120.00 | £95,520.00 | £16,640.00 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Eleanor Shawcross | PB2 | £52,215.00 | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 | |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | Poppy Mitchell-Rose | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice | David Hass | PB2 | £69,266.00 | £2,424.31 | £13,437.60 | £969.72 | £82,703.60 | £14,407.33 | |
| Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice | Kathryn Laing | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department & Minister for Women & Equality | Fiona Cunningham | PB2 | £65,000.00 | £2,275.00 | £12,610.00 | £910.00 | £77,610.00 | £13,520.00 | |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equality | Nick Timothy | PB2 | £65,000.00 | £2,275.00 | £12,610.00 | £910.00 | £77,610.00 | £13,520.00 | |
| Secretary of State for Defence | Luke Coffey | PB2 | £60,740.00 | £2,125.90 | £11,783.56 | £850.36 | £72,523.56 | £12,633.92 | |
| Secretary of State for Defence | Oliver Waghorn | PB2 | £60,740.00 | £2,125.90 | £11,783.56 | £850.36 | £72,523.56 | £12,633.92 | |
| Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills | Katie Waring | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills | Giles Wilkes | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | Susie Squire | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | Philippa Stroud | PB2 | £69,250.00 | £2,423.75 | £13,434.50 | £969.50 | £82,684.50 | £14,404.00 | |
| Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change | Duncan Brack | PB2 | £67,000.00 | £2,345.00 | £12,998.00 | £938.00 | £79,998.00 | £13,936.00 | |
| Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change | Joel Kenrick | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Secretary of State for Health | Jenny Parsons | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Secretary of State for Health | Vacancy | £20,176.00 | Position to be filled. Salary rated at mid point of pay scale (£0-£40,352) Will almost certainly be considerably more | £706.16 | £3,914.14 | £282.46 | £24,090.14 | £4,196.61 | |
| Secretary of State for Education | Henry de Zoete | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Secretary of State for Education | Elena Narozanski | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government | Giles Kenningham | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government | Sheridan Westlake | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Secretary of State for Transport | Sian Jones | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Secretary of State for Transport | Paul Stephenson | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Simon Cawte | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Will Littlejohn | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Secretary of State for International Development | Philippa Buckley | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Secretary of State for International Development | Richard Parr | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | Jonathan Caine | PB2 | £69,266.00 | £2,424.31 | £13,437.60 | £969.72 | £82,703.60 | £14,407.33 | |
| Secretary of State for Scotland | Willie Rennie | £0.00 | Unpaid | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | |
| Secretary of State for Wales | Vacancy | £20,176.00 | Position to be filled. Salary rated at mid point of pay scale (£0-£40,352) Will almost certainly be considerably more | £706.16 | £3,914.14 | £282.46 | £24,090.14 | £4,196.61 | |
| Secretary of State for Culture, Media, the Olympics and Sport | Sue Beeby | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Secretary of State for Culture, Media, the Olympics and Sport | Adam Smith | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Chief Secretary | Will de Peyer | PB2 | £63,000.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £2,205.00 | £12,222.00 | £882.00 | £75,222.00 | £13,104.00 |
| Chief Secretary | Vacancy | £20,176.00 | Position to be filled. Salary rated at mid point of pay scale (£0-£40,352) Will almost certainly be considerably more | £706.16 | £3,914.14 | £282.46 | £24,090.14 | £4,196.61 | |
| Minister without Portfolio | Vacancy | £20,176.00 | Position to be filled. Salary rated at mid point of pay scale (£0-£40,352) Will almost certainly be considerably more | £706.16 | £3,914.14 | £282.46 | £24,090.14 | £4,196.61 | |
| Leader of the House of Lords, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Flo Coleman | PB0 | £20,176.00 | Salary rated at mid point of pay scale (£0-£40,352) | £706.16 | £3,914.14 | £282.46 | £24,090.14 | £4,196.61 |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Leader of the House of Lords, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Vacancy | £20,176.00 | Position to be filled. Salary rated at mid point of pay scale (£0-£40,352) Will almost certainly be considerably more | £706.16 | £3,914.14 | £282.46 | £24,090.14 | £4,196.61 | |
| Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General | Laura Trott | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Minister of State, Cabinet Office | Martha Varney | PB1 | £40,352.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,412.32 | £7,828.29 | £564.93 | £48,180.29 | £8,393.22 |
| Minister of State (Universities and Science), BIS | Nick Hillman | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal | Robert Riddell | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Department | special adviser in post | Payband | Salary (£) | Note | Pension Contribution at 3.5% | 19.4% of Earnings | 40% tax relief on pension contributions | Yearly Total paid by taxpayer (salary+ 19.4% pension contribution) | Additional cost to taxpayer of pension contribution at 19.4% and tax take lost on pension relief at 40% |
| Chief Whip (Commons) | Chris White | PB2 | £52,215.00 | Salary not provided, set at bottom of payscale | £1,827.53 | £10,129.71 | £731.01 | £62,344.71 | £10,860.72 |
| Chief Whip (Commons) | Ben Williams | PB2 | £68,000.00 | £2,380.00 | £13,192.00 | £952.00 | £81,192.00 | £14,144.00 | |
| Totals (Yearly) | £3,930,697.00 | £137,574.40 | £762,555.22 | £55,029.76 | £4,693,252.22 | £817,584.98 | |||
| Totals (5 years) | £19,653,485.00 | £0.00 | £687,871.98 | £3,812,776.09 | £275,148.79 | £23,466,261.09 | £4,087,924.88 |
NOTES
1. Assumes all special advisers whose salary has not been published are paid at the lowest rate for their payband, or at 50% of payband 0.
2. Uses the civil service Pensions Choices document (page 10). On average employers currently pay 19.4% of pensionable earnings.
3. Where a position is waiting to be filled salary has been set at 50% of pay band 0 – although it is likely to be significantly higher.
4. Assumes a tax rate of 40% to calculate income tax relief on pension contributions.
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