His latest headline grabbing stunt has been the publication of his supposed analysis of the accounts of pension fund administering authorities. Ralfe concludes that although the total assets stood at £132bn in March 2010, liabilities had increased by more than 40% to £232bn. He claims that this means the scheme has a deficit of £100bn, compared to a deficit of £42bn in March 2007.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/12/15/116020/local-government-pension-holders-face-100bn-deficit.htm
In response, UNISON rightly called on consultants to get their facts right on local government pensions:
Heather Wakefield, National Secretary for Local Government said:
“Another week, another attack on the local government pension scheme. These so-called independent pensions consultants and government ministers should get their facts right before they resort to crude scare-mongering. The local government pension scheme is in good shape, and is a vital way of allowing mainly low paid workers to save for their retirement. A report out this year confirmed that the scheme could cover all its liabilities for the next twenty years, without a single penny more in contributions.
"What’s more, the scheme invests hundreds of billions in UK stocks and shares every year – a huge boost to our economy. With pensions, its vital to take a long term view. It is totally misleading to take an assessment of the schemes liabilities now and make claims for the future that don’t stack-up. All investments have taken a knock thanks to the financial crisis, but given time they will recover.”
http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2096