Unison, the country’s largest public sector worker union has said “gold plated” public sector pensions are a myth, with most trustees receiving no more than £4,000 per year.
This could encourage a number of public sector workers who are approaching retirement age to seek equity release advice to see how the value of their home could boost their retirement funds.
Earlier this week, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said public sector pensions are “unfair” on those working in the private sector.
However, the Liberal Democrat MP has now been accused of “scaremongering” by Unison.
The union’s general secretary Dave Prentis said: “These pension myths are scaremongering.
“There are no unreformed, gold-plated pension pots. The average pension in local government is just £4,000 a year dropping to £2,600 for women. Public sector pensions have already gone through massive changes to ensure they are sustainable and affordable.”
Public sector workers aged over 55 years who are curious about how their property’s value could provide them with a tax-free cash lump sum can find out by using the equity release calculator provided by Key Retirement Solutions.
Posted by Alison Stephenson
