Claims over public pensions ‘fantasy’

PUBLIC sector unions have said a survey that claims private sector workers are paying €5,000 a year per person to fund public service pensions is using “fantasy figures”.

The Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA) claims the 1.6 million private sector workers are contributing about €8 billion a year to the public sector pension bill.

According to the study, more than €4bn in private funds are spent on social welfare pensions, in addition to €2.3bn in retirement payments and more than €1.7bn in National Pension Reserve Fund contributions.