Severance pay for MPs leaving Parliament at the next general election is set to double to more than £19,000 under new rules from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). The watchdog announced that former MPs will now receive four months’ net pay instead of the current two, reflecting the increasing complexity of closing offices and managing staff departures.
IPSA said the current two-month period was insufficient, especially with new constituency boundaries expected at the next election. The change follows a public consultation that ended in June, and applies to all MPs who stand down at an election, not just those who lose their seat or retire at a snap election. MPs who resign before the election period will not qualify.
On current salaries of £86,584 per year, the severance payment will rise from approximately £9,878 to £19,756. In addition, MPs losing their seat after more than two years in Parliament are eligible for a separate “loss-of-office” payment, which averaged £5,250 after the 2019 election.
IPSA’s 2021 accounts showed total payouts of £1.28m in severance and £827,600 in loss-of-office payments after the last election. More than 70 MPs have so far announced they will not stand again, including Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and former cabinet ministers Dominic Raab, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid.
The decision does not require parliamentary approval as IPSA has statutory powers to set the rules. However, Conservative MP Bob Seely expressed displeasure, telling TalkTV that people resigning should not receive a payout, and warned that the public would blame MPs for the move despite IPSA’s independence.
