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Moves to give pensions to councilors
BOROUGH councillors could be set to get a pension paid for by council taxpayers.
All councillors under 75 would be eligible for the proposed pension scheme, with a significant number already showing an interest in joining.
Scarborough Borough Council has previously resisted following other local councils, such as North Yorkshire County Council, in offering its members a pension.
But in a report to its audit committee it states that after being requested to investigate by its members, councillors would be eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), if the council agrees to opt into the scheme.
The audit committee will consider three options: that the pension applies only to basic allowances, that it applies to basic and special responsibility allowances, or that the council does not opt into the pension scheme.
In the report, Gill Wilkinson, democratic and administrative manager, states: "There would be financial implications for the council budget with a potential increase in the budget equivalent to 0.65% of council tax if all councillors chose to join the pension scheme and responsibility allowances were pensionable.
"This would reduce to 0.25% of council tax if all councillors joined a scheme that only allowed for the basic allowance to be pensionable. It is unlikely but possible that all councillors may wish to join the LGPS."
The cost of applying the pension to basic allowances, if taken up by the whole council, would be 37,620 per annum, and 51,929.79 per annum if special responsibility allow-ance was added.
Councillors have been polled to see if they were in favour of being offered a pension scheme and 11 of 29 who responded said they would join the scheme and 19 of 24 were in favour of the scheme being offered.
The final pension would be based on a councillor's career average pay, the average level of eligible allowances, and length of membership to LGPS.
In addition to the pension payments, members of the LGPS also benefit from a lump sum payment on retirement (three times the annual pension), immediate life cover, with a pension for a councillor's wife, husband, civil partner or children in the event of a councillor's death and the option of early retirement from 60 years of age
Councillors who sit on both the county and borough council would be eligible to join the scheme under both councils, which is not against the law.
If the audit committee approves the offering of a council pension it would then need to be ratified by the council's cabinet.
l What do you think? You can have your say on our website at www.whitbygazette.co.uk where you can comment directly on this story or e-mail editorial@whitbygazette.co.uk
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Friday 25 May 2012
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