29.11.12
Scottish pension contributions to rise
Public sector workers in Scotland are to see their pension contributions rise for the second year, the Government has announced.
SNP finance secretary John Swinney said Scotland had to follow UK reforms or find £100m a year to offset the increases, which will affect around 250,000 people in Scotland.
The UK Government has increased pension contributions to make the system more sustainable and account for the ageing population. It is part of a move to increase contributions by an average of 3.2% of pensionable pay by 2014-15.
Swinney said: “For the Scottish Government to refuse to implement this increase would result in our funding being reduced by £100m for each and every year the increase was not applied.
“That financial burden is too large to further impose on Scotland's communities who are already dealing with difficult economic times.”
But Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie stated: “He complains endlessly that he has no choice when he knows that he does – he’s got powers on early retirement accrual rates, contribution and much more.
“The truth is that when he's faced with the same decisions as the UK, he's taken the same decisions as the UK.”
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