Increasing numbers of people leaving the civil service has led to a short term cash flow problem, according to Treasury Minister Eddie Teare.

He is seeking Tynwald approval to transfer ?5.2million from the Public Service Employees Pension Reserve (PSEPR) to fund early retirement and staff opting out of the public sector and transferring their pension entitlement.

In February, Tynwald agreed to transfer ?27million from the PSEPR to Government's revenue account. Mr Teare is calling for support to transfer a further ?5.2million to balance the budget.

Mr Teare said: 'Treasury has the power to sanction this transfer of ?5.2 million without Tynwald approval, but I want Members to be fully aware of the situation and have an opportunity to express their views. The bigger picture is that we need to reform both public sector and state pensions to make them more sustainable for future generations and to provide confidence that our pension liabilities can be met.'

Net expenditure on public sector pensions for 2014-15 was ?58.4 million, against a budget of ?26 million.

Mr Teare said: 'The number of public sector staff taking early retirement has increased over the last four years as Government continues to restructure and to streamline its workforce. Voluntary redundancy and resignation schemes have been effective in enabling employees, including many senior managers, to retire or leave service early.

'This has resulted in a significant payment of lump sums during the past financial year, particularly in the final two months. These payments are in line with pension entitlements accrued under the rules of each scheme.

'The approval being sought at July Tynwald is needed to address a short-term cash flow issue.'

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