AT least ten senior public sector figures had taxpayer-funded pensions valued at over £1.5m last year, a Sunday Herald investigation has found.

Quango bosses, NHS medical directors and a police chief are among a wealthy elite who will benefit from pensions few workers will ever come close to receiving.

Lena Wilson, who was a double-jobbing chief executive of Scottish Enterprise until she quit last year, was top with a pension valued at nearly £2.5m.

The Herald:

The 53-year-old, now a board member of scandal-hit Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), will be entitled to an £80,000 a year sum when she turns 60.

Pat Rafferty, leader of the Unite trade union in Scotland, said of the findings: “This is a national scandal. It should be stopped.”

The public sector across the UK has been dogged by revelations of senior figures enjoying huge salaries and six-figure pay-offs - all funded by the taxpayer.

Pension inequality has also moved centre stage after it was revealed that Sir Robert Devereux, a former Whitehall civil servant who was in charge of the social security system, had a pension package of £1.8m. The disclosure was met with anger as Devereux oversaw a rise in the pensionable age for the rest of the population.

An investigation by this newspaper has found that a small number of public sector executives in Scotland have pensions valued at over £1.5m

The information is contained in the latest annual accounts - covering the period until March 2017 - for the dozens of quangos, agencies and other bodies ultimately under the control of the Scottish Government.

These organisations provide the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for the pensions of their most senior staff as of March last year.

A CETV is not the sum payable on retirement, but is an estimate of the capital value of pension benefits if an individual wanted to leave the scheme.

It is a ‘point in time’ calculation based on a number of assumptions, such as how long the person will live, future investment returns and annual inflationary increases to benefits. The total amount can go up or down.

Pensions expert Keith Gourlay, a partner in Mercer Ltd, explained: “It [CETV] is a measure of the value of a member’s benefits in a defined benefits pension scheme.”

Rafferty, whose union represents workers in the public and private sectors, said: “Folk in Scotland will look at these figures and wonder 'how can this be going on?'. You could not make it up. People who have already cashed in on the public purse probably to become millionaires then sort themselves out with astronomical pensions.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "It's essential that high profile pay and benefits deals for those at the top of Scottish public bodies are rigorously assessed to ensure that they are delivering value for money. Research from around the world suggests a big gap in pay and pensions between those at the top and the rest hits morale and productivity."

SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE

LENA Wilson was the chief operating officer at Scottish Enterprise - the country’s economic development body - before becoming chief executive in 2009.

Her remuneration package totalled £279,000 last year - including pension contributions - but she also topped up her salary with a £68,000 a year directorship of FTSE-listed Intertek.

She left Scottish Enterprise in October and this month joined the board of RBS, which has attracted criticism over mistreatment of small business customers and plans to close local branches.

According to the quango’s accounts, by March last year Wilson’s pension was valued at just over £2.4m. She will receive a lump sum of around £230,000 and an annual payment between £75,000 and £80,0000 within a decade.

Paul Lewis, who is interim CEO of Scottish Enterprise, had a CETV of £1.68m, and he is line to pocket a lump sum of between £145,000 and £150,000. Lewis used to be responsible for Scottish Development International, which leads on trade and investment.

A Scottish Enterprise spokeswoman said: “The CETVs are an actuarial calculation determined by market conditions including long term interest rates and investment returns as well as each individual’s personal circumstances including salary, length of service and age.

“The exceptionally low level of long term interest rates makes the current CETVs unusually high but these will reduce substantially if interest rates return to historic levels. All staff, irrespective of grade, have the right to join our Defined Benefits Scheme, they make the same percentage salary contributions and receive the same benefits.”

POLICE SCOTLAND

Johnny Gwynne, a deputy chief constable at Police Scotland in charge of crime and operational support, had a CETV of £2.1m as of last year. The former head of Special Branch at Strathclyde Police was an active member of the pension scheme until 1 May 2016, according to the accounts. The Scottish Police Authority, which oversees the force, declined to provide a statement.

VISITSCOTLAND

Riddell Graham, director of partnerships at tourism quango VisitScotland, had a CETV of just over £2m, up from £1.8m in the previous year. His remuneration package came to around £125,000 last year.

A VisitScotland spokesperson said: “VisitScotland cannot comment in detail on any individual’s pension rights. It is important to note that the values shown relate to pensions earned, in some cases, over decades of service (Riddell Graham has 41 yrs service) and include benefits transferred in from other schemes. In addition, changes in market conditions over the year to 31 March 2017 led to a significant increase in the value of pension liabilities, including CETVs.”

CIVIL SERVICE

Leslie Evans, who as permanent secretary of the Scottish Government is the country’s most senior civil servant, had a CETV of £1.5m last year, which would give her a £200,000 lump sum when she retires.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “A CETV is not the value of a payment made to a member immediately upon retirement, nor does it represent the value of the actual payments a member will receive during the entire period of their retirement. It is the actuarially assessed capital value of the pension benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time, including the member’s accrued benefits and any spouse’s pension payable from the scheme.”

SCOTTISH WATER

Peter Farrer is the chief operating officer at Scottish Water and was formerly Customer Service Delivery Director at the same body. His remuneration package stood at £306,000 last year and his CETV was estimated at £1.6m.

According to official accounts, he is in line for a £169,000 lump sum when he retires and an annual pension of £82,000.

A Scottish Water spokesman said Farrer had 34 years service was entitled to membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme:

“The benefits built-up in the pension scheme for Mr Farrer consists of personal contributions from salary deductions, employer contributions and investment returns generated by the pension scheme over more than three decades of employment in the Scottish water industry.”

NHS

Dr David Farquharson, who was Medical Director at NHS Lothian until his retirement last year, had a CETV of £2.4million and was in line for a lump sum of nearly £340,000. The board accounts state he exited the pension scheme in early 2012.

Janis Butler, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, NHS Lothian, said: “The salaries paid to consultants and their pensions arrangements are agreed and set at a national level.”

Dr Angus Cameron, who used to be the Medical Director at NHS Dumfries and Galloway, had a pension value of £1.5m before he retired last year. The board declined to comment.

Rod Harvey, the Medical Director at NHS Highland, had a gross salary in 2016/17 of around £190,000 and his CETV stood at £1.7m in March last year. He will be entitled to a pension lump sum of nearly £220,000.

A spokesperson for the board said: “The value that you quote is consistent with other senior medical consultants who are receiving similar salaries, have significant service with the NHS and have remained part of the pension scheme throughout their career.

“Typically consultant staff are required to contribute up to 14.5% of their salary to the superannuation scheme and the value of the pension and hence CETV does therefore reflect personal contributions.”

Professor George Crooks, who until recently was Medical Director of NHS 24, had a CETV of £1.8m. He left the body last year to take up another post.

A quango spokesperson said: “Professor Crooks' pension is made up of two components, from his 23 years as a GP and from his tenure as a senior clinician with NHS Grampian, NHS 24 and the Scottish Ambulance Service, which in total amounts to 40 years service in the NHS.”