Nigel Farage to keep £73,000 EU pension billed to UK taxpayers
Mr Farage said he would not give up his pension entitlement, telling the Andrew Marr Show:“Why should my family and others suffer even more?” Up to €10 billion of the UK’s anticipated £50bn divorce bill is set to pay for the pensions of EU officials and MEPs, with Mr Farage in line for a £73,000 income after Brexit.
EU parliamentarians are due 3.5 per cent of their salary for each full year as an MEP, up to 70 per cent of total earnings, funded by European taxpayers. Mr Farage will have served 20 years by the time the UK leaves the EU in 2019, netting around £7,500 a month.
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Hide AdThe EU’s fiercest critic is also reported to be enrolled in a second pension scheme originally set up to top up pensions of MEPs from poorer member states, which will top up Mr Farage’s pension by £42,000.
He will be eligible to claim the pension in ten years, when he reaches 63.
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: “Nigel Farage is a shameless hypocrite. He rails against the so-called EU gravy train, but is happy to cash in when it suits him.”
Mr Farage said: “It is not hypocrisy. I’ve just voted to get rid of my job.”