Fury as BBC ‘playing with licence fee payers’ with new £175m pension payment | UK | News
The BBC is expected to pay £175 million into pensions next year. It comes as the national broadcaster looks to cut spending, aiming to save £600 million.
Outgoing Director General Tim Davie announced last week that the BBC would cut its budget by 10% before 2030, having pledged to cut £150 million in spending by 2028. The broadcaster is expected to pay £50 million in employer pension contributions to its defined benefit (DB) scheme during the 2026/27 financial year. It will also need to pay £125m to complete the scheme’s £1.14bn rescue package. The BBC pension scheme is one of Britain’s largest and has four schemes that were closed to new entrants 10 years ago. Some members retire at age 60 with an unlimited final salary pension, while others receive an average earnings-based pension at age 65.
Many employers switched from similar programs to fully defined contribution arrangements years ago; The BBC was asked to do the same.
It comes as the BBC license fee rose by £5.50 a year to £180 and nearly 300,000 Brits canceled their licenses last year.
Financial think tank the Adam Smith Institute criticized the BBC’s pension plan and said funding should be directed to programming instead.
Maxwell Marlow, public relations manager, he told GB News: “The BBC is still playing fast and loose with license fee payers’ money.
“Instead of funding the high-quality media output that is currently lacking across the company, they are directing large funds into unrealistic, unsustainable and unique defined-benefit pension plans.”
A BBC spokesman said: “The defined benefit scheme closed to new participants in 2010, so the number of active members continues to fall each year. At the same time, its funding position continues to strengthen.”
He added: “At the BBC, we are committed to delivering a financially sustainable, fairer and more consistent retirement arrangement for all our employees.”
