Reforms to public sector pensions are destined to fail due to a cashflow shortfall of £15.4bn by 2017, according to a new report from the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS).

Leading pensions analyst Michael Johnson reveals that the shortfall between public sector contributions and those receiving pensions is rising to ‘unsustainable levels'.  In the next five years, nearly £4 out of every £5 paid in pensions to former public sector workers will come from the taxpayer.

Johnson is recommending the Government should start preparing the public sector for a risk-sharing arrangement, leading to a wholly Defined Contribution framework.

Director of the CPS, Tim Knox, said: ‘We must recognise that the Coalition reforms to public sector pensions do not go nearly far enough, are unaffordable – and cannot last.

‘Why should future generations pick up the bill for the pensions of public sector workers, people who on average are likely to be far better off in their retirement than their wealth-creating private sector peers?'