Boucher urged to forgo €1.5m pension top-up

THE €1.5 million pension top-up to Bank of Ireland’s chief executive has been defended by the Department of Finance as an accounting necessity but Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the Government can stop it.

According to Bank of Ireland’s annual report, close to €1.5m was injected into chief executive Richie Boucher’s pension fund. Mr Boucher has an option to retire in four years time at the age of 55 with an annual pension of €367,570.

The bank said this is a once-off payment while the Department of Finance, which capped bankers’ pay at €500,000 last year, said the €1.4m figure appeared in the bank’s annual report in line with accounting rules.