*/
Capping tax-free pension contributions is deterring lawyers from ‘immensely prosperous’ private practice from applying for the bench, the Lord Chief Justice said.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd told the House of Lords Constitution Committee that the cut to the £40,000-a-year cap for those earning more than £150,000 in last July’s budget had significantly reduced the financial attractiveness of the Bench.
He said the pension change, coupled with relatively low pay and increasing volumes of work, was making it difficult to recruit and retain judges.
His words came after the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) rejected a call to give High Court judges a 3% pay rise.
Granting a 1% rise for all judges, the SSRB said a 3% rise would be ‘unfair and divisive’ and have a detrimental effect on the motivation and morale of other judges.
Capping tax-free pension contributions is deterring lawyers from ‘immensely prosperous’ private practice from applying for the bench, the Lord Chief Justice said.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd told the House of Lords Constitution Committee that the cut to the £40,000-a-year cap for those earning more than £150,000 in last July’s budget had significantly reduced the financial attractiveness of the Bench.
He said the pension change, coupled with relatively low pay and increasing volumes of work, was making it difficult to recruit and retain judges.
His words came after the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) rejected a call to give High Court judges a 3% pay rise.
Granting a 1% rise for all judges, the SSRB said a 3% rise would be ‘unfair and divisive’ and have a detrimental effect on the motivation and morale of other judges.
The Chair of the Bar reports back
By Kem Kemal, CEO, Henry Dannell
By BSK Financial Planning
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs
Susie Griffin on the admin that keeps barristers from billable work
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
Kick off your career at the Bar Council’s Pupillage Fair this October – it’s one of the most valuable opportunities for aspiring barristers, says Amelia Clegg
Join us on Saturday 21 November 2026 at Leeds Beckett University and see for yourself why the North continues to be an exceptional place to build a career at the Bar
The golden age of advocacy? David Langwallner pays homage to the filmic if contentious barrister Sir Edward Carson and some of his contemporaries
Henry Fingerhut outlines what the Bar Standards Board AI guidance means for early career barristers
Not yet, says Jacob Turner. Regulation, unlike the technology itself, is a domain the legal profession can still control
