Public sector workers on two incomes

Hundreds of public sector workers in the West Midlands are 'double-dipping' - drawing their pensions while still on taxpayer-funded salaries.

The practice is entirely legal and is widespread in the public sector where workers can draw their full pension from the age of 50, compared to 60 or 65 in the private sector.

Figures released today show that West Midlands Police force is paying both salary and pension to 375 retired police officers who have carried on working as support staff.

Details released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal one former officer gets £38,053 in pension and a support staff salary of £48,393 - a combined payout of £86,446 a year.

The rest of the top five payouts include staff receiving their police pension of between £26,743 and £36,158, coupled with annual salaries of £30,624 or more.

Police officers who started work before 2006 can retire on an inflation-linked pension worth two-thirds of their final salary after 30 years of service. The average contribution they make is 11 per cent of their salary, with the rest coming from the employer.

Most police officers retire in their early 50s and can start drawing their pension.

But many have since taken new jobs within the service working as support staff.

Councillor Bob Jones, who sits on West Midlands Police Authority, insisted it was often the case that a former police officer had the necessary skills for a job.

He said: "We should not be precluding these officers from applying for a role when they are the best people for the job."

West Midlands Fire Service has 23 employees getting a double pay packet, with staff getting up to £38,557 in salary on top of £36,915 in pension.

Five staff are doing it in West Midlands Ambulance Service and 19 get the double payouts at Dudley Primary Care Trust.

There are 522 workers at Staffordshire County Council getting two payouts at once, along with one at Stafford Borough Council.

Details have yet to be returned by the West Midlands Pension Fund, which administers the pensions for Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell, Dudley and Birmingham councils.

Jeremy Sharpe, spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service, said: "Where individuals who are in receipt of a pension are re-employed by West Midlands Fire Service, reductions are made to their pension in line with Government guidance."

Ian Parry, deputy leader of Staffordshire County Council, added most claimants were in lower paid occupations whose services were terminated, usually on redundancy or age-related grounds.

He added: "These people are entitled to look for further employment and there is no legal or moral reason why they should not seek a position with the county council."

Matthew Elliott, of the lobby group TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Public bodies must do all they can to avoid these inflated costs."