FOUR of the most senior figures in Scotland’s cash-strapped national fire service have pensions valued at over £7 million.

Chief Officer Alasdair Hay has a pension worth £2.5m – the highest of any public sector executive identified by the Sunday Herald – which will give him £113,000 a year in retirement.

In 2012, an SNP Government plan to create the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was backed by MSPs. However, the SFRS has endured funding cuts in real terms and the loss of hundreds of firefighter posts in recent years.

Relations between management and the Fire Brigades Union hit a new low recently after the FBU passed a motion of no confidence in Hay and his senior leadership team.

The union has said it has repeatedly raised concerns over the reliance on overtime to crew appliances, as well as the availability of fire engines.

The FBU is also angry that a consultation on service “transformation” has started before the terms and conditions of staff from the eight previous regional fire services have been harmonised.

The latest annual accounts for the service, covering 2016/17, may deepen the rift between firefighters and their employer.

One section of the document lays out the the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for the pensions of the service’s most senior staff. A CETV is an estimate of the value of pension benefits if an individual wants to leave the scheme, rather than the sum payable on retirement.

The “point in time” calculation is based on various assumptions, including annual inflationary increases to benefits, investment returns and how long a person will live.

The Herald:

Picture: Labour's Daniel Johnson said the revelations would affect morale

According to the accounts Hay, who earns up to £170,000 a year, had a pension fund of over £2.5m as of March last year.

Two assistant chief officers – Lewis Ramsay and David McGown – have a CETV of £1.3m and £1.5m respectively.

Robert Scott, who was also listed in the accounts as an assistant officer, had one of £1.6m but he has since retired. Collectively the quartet had pensions valued at over £7m last year.

Hay’s pension will give him £113,000 a year, while Scott, Ramsay and McGown are in line for £85,000, £74,000 and £84,000 a year on retirement. The average firefighter salary is around £30,000.

In January, the Sunday Herald revealed the public sector bosses who had a pension CETV of over £1.5m.

Top of list was former Scottish Enterprise chief executive Lena Wilson, whose pot stood at nearly £2.5m. Hay’s pension has a higher value.

Others who can look forward to a lucrative retirement include Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Johnny Gwynne, VisitScotland director of partnerships Riddell Graham, and Scottish Government permanent secretary Leslie Evans, who each had a CETVs of £2.1m, £2m and £1.5m.

Scottish Labour Justice spokesman Daniel Johnson said: “The revelation that these same people are sitting on massive pension pots while rank and file firefighters can’t get a decent pay rise, will have a major effect on staff morale. Firefighters deserve a real pay rise after years of SNP and Tory austerity, but not one that comes at the cost of hundreds of jobs.”

Scottish Tory MSP Maurice Corry said: “With pension commitments like this it’s no wonder the fire service is strapped for cash. The creation of a single fire service was meant to ensure better use of taxpayers’ money. Cracking down on excessive pension schemes should be very much part of that efficiency drive.”

A Fire Service spokeswoman said: “Senior SFRS Officers are members of the defined benefit final salary Firefighters’ Pension Scheme and the value of their pensions is based on their pensionable pay and length of service.”