Bank chiefs paid £2m EVERY year for retirement

THE bosses of Britain’s big- gest banks are pocketing more than £2m a year in pension payments not available to ordinary workers.

Chief executives of HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Lloyds, Santander and Standard Chartered enjoy handouts worth as much as 35pc of base salaries.

In many cases their staff must make do with less than half that. Big businesses now face a backlash from investors over the schemes because they are widely seen as an unfair perk.

Several banks have sought to quell the fury by cutting bosses’ pension payouts. But these still leave chief executives with far better terms than colleagues.

And Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio and his Standard Chartered counterpart Bill Winters have seen other aspects of their pay altered, so they are better off than before, despite cuts to their pensions.

Luke Hildyard, of the High Pay Centre, said: ‘Top bankers are incredibly well-paid even before pensions are taken into account. Blatant double standards for executives and ordinary staff reinforces the perception of bankers as an out-of-touch elite indifferent to the struggles facing the rest of society, including their colleagues.’

In total, the chief executives of the six big banks were paid £2.7m towards their pensions in 2018 and will collect £2.4m this year. Unlike most staff, who only get company contributions if they lock the money away for decades, the bosses are given this money in cash to be spent or invested as they see fit. The Investment Association, which represents major shareholders, has written to firms with overgenerous retirement schemes urging them to change course. Its warnings are likely to be followed by rebellions at the worst offenders’ annual meetings.

The biggest pension earner is Nathan Bostock at Santander UK, who gets £588,000 a year, equal to 35pc of his £1.6m base salary. Ordinary staff get a maximum of 12.5pc.

Horta- Osorio was given £573,000, or 46pc of his £1.2m salary by Lloyds last year. Contributions are being cut to 33pc from this year, meaning he will get £419,000. But this is still much more than Lloyds staff, most of whom get up to 13pc.

He has been handed a £175,000 pay rise, offsetting the £154,000 reduction to his pension. And he will also get a final salary pension from Lloyds, though he last night agreed limits to this payment. Meanwhile, at Standard Chartered, Winters was given £460,000, or 40pc of his £1.2m salary in 2018. This year, the bank is cutting Winters’ pension contribution to 20pc.

But his base salary and a fixed pay allowance have now been lumped together and are worth £2.4m. This means the 57-yearold’s pension payments will actually rise to £474,000 next year. Other staff get maximum contributions of 10pc.

Jes Staley, 62-year- old chief executive of Barclays, gets £396,000, or 17pc of his £2.4m salary – compared to 10pc offered to staff. And at Royal Bank of Scotland, boss Ross McEwan is paid £ 350,000 towards his pension, equal to 35pc of the 61-year- old’s £1m salary. RBS staff get 10pc.

The lowest pension payment went to HSBC chief executive John Flint for his first year in the job. Flint, 50, got £308,000, or 30pc of his £1m base pay. For 2019 this has been cut to £124,000, or 10pc. Other staff can get up to 16pc. Andrew Ninian, of the Investment Association, said: ‘Shareholders want to see executive director pension contributions reduced so they are in line with the workforce. We expect the pension contributions to be cut over time.’