Pensions and perks to give soft landing

BERTIE AHERN will still retain much of the income and perks of his job, if not the power and influence, when he resigns as Taoiseach on May 6.

His generous pension and other entitlements as a long server in high office mean he won’t have to worry about bills or transport for the rest of his life.

Currently on a salary of more than €270,000 plus expenses, his pay for continuing as a TD will fall to €101,446 which is the basic rate plus a long-server’s allowance. In addition to that he is eligible for a TD’s expenses allowance of up to €65,000.