Reports earlier this week erroneously suggested Humza Yousaf would be eligible for a pension of £52k per annum, for life, starting with immediate effect.

But the reality is that the outgoing SNP leader’s pension from his time in the top job is likely to be far closer to £2k a year, starting only when he is 65.

Does he get anything for standing down?

Under the Scottish Parliamentary Pensions Act 2009, all ministers leaving government are entitled to an “office-holder resettlement grant” payable 90 days after they’ve headed back to the backbenches.

For all ministers - bar the first minister - it is the equivalent of 25% of their final salary.

But for first ministers and presiding officers, it is either  50% of their final salary or a percentage based on their time in office, whichever is higher.

The Act sets out a formula which sees the number of continuous years they have been in post, divided by 12, multiplied by 100.

It’s important to note that this is based on what the First Minister gets paid for being first minister, £104,584.

It does not include the money he gets paid for being an MSP, which bumps his annual salary to £176,780.

For Mr Yousaf, who has only been in office for 13 months, the formula suggests his grant should be £8,715.

Which means he will get 50% of his final salary, £52,292.

What about his pension?

Mr Yousaf's pension for being First Minister will be either 1/40 or 1/50 of his final salary - depending on which level of contributions he choses to make. That will also only be for each year in office.

The Scottish Parliament says his pension will be in the order of £2k per annum, payable from age 65.

However, having been an MSP since 2011 and a minister since 2012, he has over a decade of contributions.

According to the most recent set of Scottish Government accounts, running until the end of March 2023, his pension pot - cash equivalent transfer value - stands at around £64,000.

By comparison, at that point, Nicola Sturgeon’s stood at £434,000, though she had made a number of hefty contributions over the years.

Before the Scottish Parliamentary Pensions Act came into force, former first ministers and presiding officers were entitled to 50% of their final salary as an annual pension