How good are public sector pensions - and should we cut them or protect them?
This is Money Podcast
This is Money
4.4 • 734 Ratings
🗓️ 5 December 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sounds good, doesn't it? That's what a public sector pension delivers - and it's a far better deal than the retirement funds most people in the private sector save into.
So, why do we want to make the good thing worse, rather than the bad thing better? Shouldn't we be doing things the other way round? And shouldn't the government be doing everything it can to improve private sector pensions rather than chip away at their already inferior benefits?
On this episode of the This is Money Podcast, Georgie Frost, Helen Crane and Simon Lambert talk pensions - and the gulf between the public and private sector that is getting ever wider.
Just how good is a public sector pension? Do many of those in line for them even realise how good they are? And how can we make the private sector catch up rather than trigger a race to the bottom?
Plus, why the Budget was very bad news if you earn £52,000, can Argos be saved - and is reviving the catalogue the answer, why are food prices so high, and finally, have you got one of the names most likely to win the Premium Bonds?
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Hosts: Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce, Helen Crane
Producer: Georgie Frost
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to This Is Money podcast sponsored by Charles Stanley Direct. I'm Georgie Frost and joining me and Simon Lamber today is Helen Crane. And coming up, the cost of gold-plated public sector pensions has ballooned and the Gulf with private pensions is widening. Is it time they were cut or do we risk a race to the bottom? Also, why workers earning 52,000 pounds will be worse hit by changes to salary sacrifice. |
| 0:26.8 | Plus is another retail giant about to bite the dust. |
| 0:29.9 | What has gone so wrong at Argos? |
| 0:32.4 | And can it ever return to its former glory? |
| 0:34.9 | When will food prices come down? |
| 0:37.1 | And what are the names most likely to win |
| 0:38.9 | the premium bonds? Don't forget, you stay up to date with all the latest breaking money news, |
| 0:42.6 | just go to this ismoney.com.com.uk or download the app. But first, a message from our sponsors. |
| 0:49.4 | Still wondering how the budget will affect your finances? Lisa Kaplan and her team at Charles |
| 0:53.7 | Salley Direct are here to help. |
| 0:55.5 | The financial coaching service gives you clear, practical guidance with no jargon |
| 0:58.9 | and no pressure. |
| 1:00.3 | Book your free 15-minute call today at Charles-dash-Danley.com. |
| 1:04.1 | UK forward slash financial coaching. |
| 1:07.1 | Go on. |
| 1:07.8 | Get answers you can trust. |
| 1:09.3 | Remember investment involves risk. |
| 1:11.7 | Now back to the show. |
| 1:18.6 | A row is brewing about the cost of gold-plated public sector pensions. The total cost has ballooned to almost £6 trillion this year, leaving households on the hook for an average of just over £200,000 each. |
| 1:26.2 | That's according to new analysis. It comes at a time when private |
| 1:29.0 | sector workers face a raid on their retirement savings, with the chance to attack salary |
| 1:33.1 | sacrifice schemes used to build pension pots. The government disputes these figures, but pension experts |
... |
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