The number of former council employees receiving pensions worth more than £100,000 a year has reached a record high, according to figures obtained by The Telegraph.
A total of 245 retired local government workers across Britain are now drawing six-figure annual pension payments, almost three times the number recorded in 2021-22. The figures come as councils continue to face mounting financial pressures and households across the country contend with rising council tax bills.
Analysis first reported by The Telegraph found that the number of retirees receiving pensions of more than £50,000 a year has also risen sharply, doubling to 7,382 over the same period.
The findings relate to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), one of the largest public sector pension schemes in the UK. The scheme currently pays pensions to more than 2.4 million retirees, while around five million serving local government workers are building up future pension entitlements.
LGPS pensions are guaranteed and linked to inflation, providing members with a secure income for life. While the scheme was previously based on final salary calculations, benefits are now determined using a career-average earnings model.
The Telegraph obtained the data through Freedom of Information requests sent to local government pension funds across England, Scotland and Wales. Responses were received from 88 of the 97 schemes contacted.
The figures showed that while the total number of pensions in payment increased by around 23 per cent since 2021-22, the number of pensions worth more than £100,000 a year rose by 261 per cent. The number of pensions exceeding £50,000 annually increased by 212 per cent.
Among the responding funds, Worcestershire Pension Fund recorded the highest number of six-figure pension recipients, with 52 retirees receiving more than £100,000 a year. Wandsworth reported 20 such pensioners, while the West Midlands fund recorded 17.
Worcestershire also had the highest number of retirees receiving pensions above £50,000, with 588 recipients. The West Midlands fund recorded 418, while West Yorkshire reported 296.
Tom McPhail, a pensions expert and scheme trustee, questioned whether such generous pension arrangements remain fair at a time when many taxpayers face financial strain.
He told The Telegraph: “Council budgets are under pressure across the country and council taxes are increasing faster than inflation. Meanwhile, many local government pension schemes are now in surplus.
“At a time when many ordinary taxpayers are struggling to fund their own pension, it’s not unreasonable to ask whether it’s fair that so many council employees are retiring with such generous gold-plated pensions.”
The financial position of many local government pension funds has improved significantly in recent years. Employer contribution rates have fallen from 21.3 per cent in 2022 to 16.6 per cent in 2025, with further reductions expected after the latest valuations showed only eight funds remained in deficit, compared with 26 three years earlier.
Current scheme members contribute between 5 per cent and 12.5 per cent of their salary, depending on earnings, while employers contribute an average of 16.6 per cent. Members build up pension benefits equivalent to approximately 2 per cent of salary for each year of membership.
Maxwell Marlow, of the Adam Smith Institute, argued that the scheme should be closed to new entrants and replaced with a defined contribution model.
He told The Telegraph: “The LGPS now sits on a record surplus of around £147bn, which reflects years of extracting employer contributions from struggling taxpayers.”
Mr Marlow said the scheme’s surplus could instead be used to reduce costs for councils and provide relief for council taxpayers.
The debate comes as local authorities continue to increase council tax rates. Across England, 274 councils raised council tax by the maximum permitted 5 per cent this year, adding an average of £111 to a Band D bill.
In Wales, average Band D council tax bills increased by 4.8 per cent, while Scottish councils raised rates by an average of 7.7 per cent.
The Local Government Pension Scheme has also expanded in recent years after eligibility was extended to councillors and directly elected mayors, a move reported to cost an additional £45 million annually.
Responding to the figures, a Worcestershire County Council spokesman said the 640 pensioners receiving more than £50,000 a year represented less than one per cent of the fund’s overall membership.
“The majority of pensions paid by the fund are therefore significantly lower than the threshold highlighted,” the spokesman said.
A spokesman for the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government stressed that the highest-value pensions represent only a small proportion of scheme members overall.
He said: “This is a tiny proportion of the 6.9 million people in the Local Government Pension Scheme.
“The average pensioner in the scheme receives £5,750 per year and it supports people who dedicate their working lives to their communities: our street cleaners, teaching assistants and librarians.”
Worth reading in full: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions/private-pensions/council-workers-on-gold-plated-100k-pensions-nearly-triples/
