Pension liabilities for retired EU officials and MEPs hit £42bn

The Times reports that the estimated pension and sickness insurance liabilities for retired EU officials and MEPs last year reached £42bn, an increase of £8.6bn compared with 2013. A spokesman for the European Commission said the large increase was caused by a “significant decrease in the interest rate” caused by Eurozone quantitative easing policies.

The cost of servicing these pensions – paid out from the EU’s annual budget – will go up by 5.2% in 2016 taking the annual bill to £1.6bn. The average pension currently paid to retired officials is over £3,000 a month and the average age at retirement is 61.9 years.

Open Europe’s Pawel Swidlicki is quoted as saying that “The spiralling bill for EU officials’ pensions is the legacy of years of inefficient management and overly generous terms and conditions. The UK and many other countries have introduced tough reforms to make public sector pensions sustainable. It is high time the EU follows suit.”

Tout ceci me fait penser à ces gens du FMI qui ne paient aucun impôt, absolument aucun,  et qui comme Christine Lagarde se plaignent que nous n’en payions pas assez.