RBS pensioners get 0.1% rise as Fred scrapes by on £1,900 a day

Sir Fred Goodwin: £1,900-a-day pension
Sri Carmichael13 April 2012

Royal Bank of Scotland has told retired employees they will receive just 0.1 per cent inflation on their annual pension payouts this year.

The tiny rise provoked anger among former staff, who have condemned the £1,900-a-day pension given to the bank's former boss Sir Fred Goodwin.

More than 50,000 RBS pensioners received letters today informing them of the meagre adjustment as figures revealed shop prices have soared.

The British Retail Consortium said food cost nine per cent more than it did a year ago.

Research shows that the overall real cost of living for the elderly is rising at nearly five per cent — double the rate for those under 30, according to investment group Alliance Trust.

Sir Fred has so far refused to give up any of his gold-plated retirement fund, despite government pleas and public outrage.

His disastrous tenure was blamed for the bank's decision yesterday to shed a further 9,000 jobs, half of them in Britain.

Many former employees hold shares in the bank and have watched them plummet in value during the last six months.

Today's fresh blow to their financial position has left many shocked.

An 89-year-old widow, whose husband was an RBS bank manager for 45 years, said: "It's disgraceful that the bank is not looking after its staff who worked for it when it was an organisation to be proud of, while the man who ruined it walks away with a fortune.

"I have a substantial amount of my savings in RBS shares and Sir Fred Goodwin has destroyed my finances."

A Royal Bank of Scotland spokesman said the pension inflation rate was set annually according to the Retail Price Index in January, with a ceiling of three per cent.

The RPI has fallen dramatically because it includes the price of shop goods as well as housing costs, which have been affected by the collapse in the property market.

The RBS spokesman said the pension rate could not move from the RPI: "We are following the rules of the pension fund. Most pension funds use the RPI. We cannot slip between measures.

"The inflation rate will apply to Sir Fred Goodwin's pension as well."

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