FTSE 100 chiefs’ pension pot hits £4.7m

The average pension pot for a FTSE 100 director increased by £400,000 last year to £4.73 million, according to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The PensionsWatch 2013 survey, which examined the pension arrangements of 294 directors across FTSE 100 organisations, also revealed that:

  • The average accrued pension is now £259,947 a year, 25 times the average employee occupational pension (£10,452 a year).
  • Average annual employer contributions to directors’ defined contribution pension schemes increased by £15,872 to £160,380 during the last year.
  • The average cash payment is now £173,217 a year, up £8,292 on last year.
  • The average cash payment to directors was worth 29% of their salary.
  • Two in five directors are still entitled to some defined benefit.
  • The average pension pot for a director’s pension is £4.73 million, or £6.3 million for those with the largest pension pot in each organisation.

Frances O’Grady (pictured), TUC general secretary, said: “Britain’s top bosses already enjoy a level of pay and bonuses beyond common decency. But not content with grabbing an ever larger slice of the UK’s earnings pie, they are adding to the country’s growing inequality with their platinum-plated pensions.”

A spokesperson for the TUC added that the government could help to address this issue by calling on employers to improve the quality of their pension scheme reporting.

“It’s very hard to access the level of pension company directors receive,” the spokesperson said. “We also want better clarity, to make [employees] know what they are getting.”