Pensioners invested in big tech giants

MORE than £50 million of pension payments from teachers, police officers and firefighters across Derbyshire is being invested in tech companies that have been urged to pay more tax.

The Derbyshire Pension Fund is valued at £4.6 billion, as stated in a report published by the county council this week.

More than 200 employers pay into the fund, with over 100,000 members.

Derbyshire County Council oversees the fund, which also covers employees of district and borough councils.

Much of the payments made to the fund, such as by teachers, police officers, firefighters and councillors, are used to make investments in companies - to bring in more money.

The new report states that these investments returned £191.9 million last year and details the firms in which these investments are made.

Among the top 10 US firms the fund invests in are Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and the parent company of Google – Alphabet.

The fund’s holdings in Facebook are worth £12.3 million and have increased by £5 million in the last year.

Holdings in Alphabet Inc more than doubled from £7 million to £14.5 million this year. Investments in Amazon increased from £10.9 million to £12.8 million.

Meanwhile, holdings in Microsoft increased at a similar rate to Facebook, rising by £5 million £12.5 million.

Several of these companies have come under fire for how little tax they pay in the UK.

Data shows that despite sales worth £1.3 billion in the UK, Facebook paid only £15.7 million in tax – though this is triple the sum paid the year before.

Meanwhile, Amazon made just under £2 billion in the UK last year yet paid just £4.6 million tax.