At least he worked for his pension

Submitted by Bob E.

Some commenters are suggesting that it is "a bit ripe" for a Lord to be suggesting that people work for their pension, and are demanding to know what contribution he has made and what he might or will be doing to justify getting his state old age pension … aside of course from the contribution he makes as a Life Peer, turning up to those arduous sittings in the House of Lords with only the prospect of the daily attendance fee to take the sting out of it, which some might perhaps consider "contribution enough", especially when they see what other sterling service Lord Bichard has already provided to his community.

Which is to say "stop carping and whining, Lord Bichard has already put in his shift doing service for the community – that is why he was made a Life Peer".

He became Chief Executive of Brent Council in 1980 – the year of his 43rd birthday - and continued in that role until 1986, before leaving Brent to do service as Chief Executive of Gloucestershire County Council – a much bigger and harder task.

He fulfilled that role until 1990 when he was plucked from Gloucestershire to undertake a national role as Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, which had just been established. He carried that responsibility out until 1995 when he moved on to the Department of Employment, which was then merging with the Department of Education to become the super big Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) – agreeing to be Permanent Secretary of that monster organisation.

It was while undertaking this service that he was made Sir Michael Bichard in 1999. Not surprisingly by the time 2001 – the year of his 55th birthday - rolled around, and yet further changes to the machinery of government were taking place, and with DfEE being unpicked again, Sir Michael decided that he had done his shift and entered "retirement", leaving the civil service BUT in the same year accepting the position of Rector of the University of the Arts in London and the Chairmanship of the Design Council.

He also found the time to be non exec Chairman of RSe Consulting between 2003 and 2008 and take on the role of Chair of the Legal Services Commission in 2005. And he was of course Chair of the Inquiry into the Soham Murders in 2004. In 2008 Sir Michael dropped the majority of his post retirement activities to concentrate on being Director of the Institute for Government, only leaving that role in 2010 when in the year of his 64th birthday he was made a Life Peer.

There is no public evidence for it, but it is said that all Lord Bichard has to show for his long, well into "retirement", service to the community, are public service pensions which provide him with of £120,000 per annum. And his well deserved state old age pension will top that up nicely.

So, go easy on the "what right has this ****** got to suggest that pensioners have to do community work to qualify for their pension or lose it", diatribes, OK?