- Sir Robert Devereux retiring as the chief civil servant in pensions department
- He pushed through the rise in the pension age to 68, but will step down at 61
- Sir Robert has the biggest pension pot in Whitehall at a staggering £1.8m
The mandarin who pushed through a rise in the pension age to 68 is to retire – at just 61 years-old.
Sir Robert Devereux announced today that he is stepping down as the permanent secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions.
The senior civil servant has the biggest pension pot in Whitehall and will enjoy a retirement pot worth a staggering £1.8million.
This means the 60-year-old will get £85,000 a year and a lump sum of £245,000 when he leaves his job.
Sir Robert Devereux announced today that he is stepping down as the permanent secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions (file pic)
As the Work and pensions’ chief civil servant he is the man in charge of designing the state pensions system.
His announcement comes just weeks after millions of people were told they would have to wait a year later than planned to get their money.
The Government announced in July that it is bringing forward by seven years the rise in the pension age again in a shake-up which will affect everyone under the age of 47.
The increase in the pension age will now come into force from 2037 and not 2044, as stated in legislation.
David Gauke, the Department for Work and Pensions Secretary, earlier this year announce plans to rise the retirement age to 68 were bringing brought forward by seven years
The move was slammed by Charity Age UK who said it will hit millions of Britons.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, told Mail Online at the time: ‘In bringing forward a rise in state pension age by seven years, the Government is picking the pockets of everyone in their late forties and younger, despite there being no objective case in Age UK’s view to support it at this point in time.
‘Indeed, it is astonishing that this is being announced the day after new authoritative research suggested that the long term improvement in life expectancy is stalling.
‘For people in midlife and younger their State Pension may seem a lifetime away but the fact is that the change announced today will have a real impact on them later in life.’