Teachers Superannuation (Scotland) Act 1968

PART I — Personal Superannuation Benefits

Superannuation benefits for teachers.

1

• (1) There shall be payable by the Secretary of State to or in respect of teachers such superannuation benefits as may, in accordance with this Part of this Act, be provided for by regulations made by him.

• (2) Regulations so made shall make provision for determining the service which is to be reckonable service for the purpose of enabling teachers to qualify for superannuation benefits under the regulations or for other purposes of this Part of this Act, and the period of reckonable service which must be completed and any other requirements which must be fulfilled to entitle a teacher or his personal representatives to superannuation benefits.

• (3) Subject to the last foregoing subsection, the regulations made for the purposes of this section shall provide—

• (a) for the payment of allowances in accordance with section 2 of this Act to retired teachers who have attained such age as may be prescribed for this purpose ; and

• (b) for the payment of allowances in accordance with that section to retired teachers who, before attaining such age as may be prescribed for this purpose, have become, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, incapacitated ; and

• (c) for the payment of gratuities to retired teachers who, before attaining the age of seventy, have become, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, incapacitated, and are not entitled to the allowances above referred to ; and

• (d) for the payment of gratuities to the personal representatives of teachers who die while still employed in reckonable service or who die in such other circumstances as may be prescribed.

• (4) The inclusion in the following provisions of this Act of any specific power to make regulations shall not be taken as prejudicing the generality of the power to make regulations under this section.

• (5) For the purposes of this Part of this Act—

• " retired teacher " means a teacher who has ceased to be employed in reckonable service ; and

• " incapacitated " means permanently incapable through infirmity of mind or body of serving efficiently as a teacher in reckonable service.

Annual and additional allowances.

2

• (1) The allowances payable to retired teachers in accordance with regulations made by virtue of section 1(3)(a) and (b) of this Act shall consist of an annual allowance for life and an additional allowance by way of lump sum payment, both allowances being calculated by reference to the period of the teacher's reckonable service and to his average salary.

• (2) The rate of the annual allowance shall not exceed an amount equal to one-eightieth of the average salary multiplied by the number of years (subject to the maximum specified in subsection (4) of this section) of the reckonable service.

• (3) The amount of the additional allowance shall not exceed an amount equal to the appropriate fraction of the average salary multiplied by the number of years (subject to the maximum specified in subsection (4) of this section) of the reckonable service, and the appropriate fraction is three-eightieths for service on or after 1st October 1956 and one-thirtieth for service before that date.

• (4) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, for the purpose of calculating the amount of the annual allowance and of the additional allowance, no account shall be taken of any reckonable service—

• (a) beyond a total of forty-five years ; or

• (b) beyond a total of forty years before attaining the age of sixty years.

• (5) For the purpose of calculating additional allowances in the case of teachers whose reckonable service includes service before 1st October 1956—

• (a) any service to be disregarded by virtue of subsection (4)(a) of this section shall be taken from the beginning of the period of the reckonable service; and

• (b) subsection (4)(b) of this section shall not apply, but the amount of the additional allowance so far as attributable to service before attaining the age of sixty shall not exceed one-and-a-half times the average salary.

• (6) Where a teacher becomes entitled to the allowances as having become incapacitated, and does so before attaining the age of sixty-five and without having completed twenty years of reckonable service, the allowances shall be calculated as if the teacher had completed such period of reckonable service not exceeding twenty years as may be prescribed, and (in order to determine the appropriate fraction for calculating the additional allowance) as if the additional period of reckonable service had been a continuous period immediately preceding the actual commencement of the reckonable service.

Financing of benefits.

3

• (1) For the purpose of defraying the cost of superannuation benefits payable by the Secretary of State under this Part of this Act, contributions shall be paid to the Secretary of State by teachers and their employers in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

• (2) Contributions under this section shall be payable only in respect of teachers to whom regulations made under this Part of this Act for the time being apply.

• (3) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, the contributions payable in respect of a teacher by the teacher shall be of an amount equal to six per cent. of his salary for the time being; but regulations shall—

• (a) provide that, in such cases and on such conditions as may be prescribed, contributions paid by a teacher shall be repaid to him or to his personal representatives if he has ceased to be employed in reckonable service without any allowance or gratuity becoming payable to or in respect of him under this Part of this Act; and

• (b) provide for determining the method by which the amount to be repaid in respect of those contributions and of interest thereon is to be ascertained.

• (4) Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, the contributions payable in respect of a teacher by his employer shall be of an amount equal to six per cent. of the teacher's salary for the time being, together with any supplementary contributions required as mentioned in section 5(3) of this Act and calculated by reference to the teacher's salary for the time being.

Calculation of salary and average salary.

4

• (1) For the purposes of this Part of this Act, the salary of a teacher shall be taken, subject to subsection (2) of this section, to be the aggregate of the emoluments, whether in money or in kind, receivable by the teacher in respect of his employment in reckonable service, but shall exclude such moneys or other emoluments as may be prescribed:

Provided that the Secretary of State shall have power in such cases as he may think fit to make a direction disapplying any such exclusion.

• (2) Where a teacher is by reason of sickness receiving less than his full salary, then, for the purpose of calculating the amounts payable by way of contributions in respect of him under section 3 of this Act, the amount which he is so receiving shall be deemed to be his salary.

• (3) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the average salary of a teacher for the purposes of regulations under this Act shall be taken to be the average amount of his full salary calculated under subsection (1) of this section, in respect of his employment in reckonable service or other prescribed service during the three years of such service (whether continuous or not) next preceding the commencement of any annual allowance, or the grant of any additional allowance or gratuity, payable under this Part of this Act.

• (4) If a teacher has not been employed in reckonable service or other prescribed service for three years or more, his average salary shall be calculated by reference to the period during which he has been so employed ; and regulations may provide that, in the case of a teacher who has completed forty-five years' service of a prescribed description, his average salary shall be calculated by reference to a period determined under the regulations instead of the period appropriate under subsection (3) of this section.

• (5) If, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, the salary of a teacher has been unreasonably increased in respect of his employment during any period to be taken into account in calculating his average salary, the salary on which his average salary is to be computed shall be deemed to be such amount as the Secretary of State considers to be proper.

• (6) Regulations may make provision containing such conditions as may be prescribed enabling a teacher who suffers a reduction in his salary while continuing to be employed, or upon being re-employed, in reckonable service, or upon being employed in reckonable service after employment in such other service as may be prescribed, to elect to be treated for the purposes of any obligation to pay contributions and any entitlement to superannuation benefits as if he were in receipt of the salary at which he was last employed before the reduction :

Provided that the teacher may at any time withdraw an election made under this subsection in such manner as may be prescribed.

Accounts and actuarial inquiries.

5

• (1) An account shall be kept of the revenue and expenditure under this Part of this Act as provided by Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act.

• (2) The Secretary of State shall cause an actuarial inquiry and report thereon to be made every five years, as provided by Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act, for the purpose of determining—

• (a) whether, on the basis of the teachers superannuation account, the contributions payable under section 3 of this Act are sufficient, more than sufficient, or less than sufficient to support the expenditure required to be included in that account so far as attributable to service on or after 1st June 1922; and

• (b) if those contributions are found, as provided by Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act, to be not sufficient, what supplementary contributions are required from employers to make good the deficiency as so provided.

• (3) Where a report requires supplementary contributions to be paid by employers, such contributions shall be required in respect of any period after the expiry of the accounting period in which the report is made and before the expiry of the accounting period in which the next subsequent report is made in pursuance of this section.

• (4) The Secretary of State shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament the report made on each actuarial inquiry held in pursuance of this section.

Provisions relating to contributions and benefits.

6

Regulations may make any of the provisions specified in Schedule 2 to this Act, which relate to liability for contributions and to reducing, suspending, withholding or ending superannuation benefits under this Part of this Act in certain cases.

PART II — Pensions for Widows and other Dependants

Pensions for widows, widowers, children and dependants.

7

• (1) The Secretary of State may provide by regulations for the payment of pensions of such amounts, in such cases and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, to or in respect of the widows or widowers and the children or other dependants of teachers who die on or after 1st April 1965.

• (2) Regulations under this section shall provide for the establishment of a fund—

• (a) into which shall be paid all contributions received by the Secretary of State as mentioned in section 8 of this Act and such other sums as may be prescribed; and

• (b) out of which shall be paid the pensions referred to in subsection (1) of this section and such other sums as may be prescribed.

• (3) Regulations under this section—

• (a) shall provide for the establishment of a board of management to undertake the management of the fund and to exercise such other powers and functions in relation to the pensions referred to in subsection (1) of this section as may be determined in accordance with the regulations; and

• (b) shall provide for the payment by the Secretary of State of any administrative expenses incurred for the purposes of this Part of this Act and the payment by him, to the members of the board of management, of such ,travelling, subsistence and other allowances as he may, with the consent of the Treasury, determine.

Contributions to finance pensions for widows and other dependants.

8

• (1) Regulations made under section 7 of this Act shall require the payment to the Secretary of State, in such cases as may be prescribed,—

• (a) of contributions by teachers of such amounts as may be determined in accordance with the regulations ;

• (b) of a single contribution, by or in respect of a teacher, of such amount as may be so determined.

• (2) Except where the regulations otherwise provide, they shall require any such payment as is referred to in subsection (1)(b) of this section to be made by the surrender of the whole or a proportion of any additional allowance or gratuity payable under Part I of this Act to or in respect of the teacher in question, or of any sum payable to or in respect of him by way of return of personal superannuation contributions.

• (3) Regulations under section 7 of this Act shall provide that, in such cases and on such conditions as may be prescribed, all or part of the contributions paid by a teacher as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section shall be repaid to him or his personal representatives, and shall also provide for determining the method by which the amount to be repaid in respect of those contributions and of interest thereon is to be ascertained.

• (4) Any amounts required to be repaid as mentioned in subsection (3) of this section shall be repaid out of the fund referred to in section 7 of this Act.

Preservation of benefits on transfer of employment.

9

• (1) Where, in such cases as may be prescribed, a person becomes employed in reckonable service after having been engaged in employment in relation to which provision is made for payments to be made to or for the benefit of the dependants of persons engaged in that employment, provision may be made by regulations under section 7 of this Act for the payment into the fund referred to in that section of a payment in respect of some or all of his previous employment.

• (2) Where, in such cases as may be prescribed, a teacher ceases to be employed in reckonable service and takes up other employment in relation to which provision is made for such payments as are mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, then for the purpose of enabling some or all of the teacher's employment in reckonable service to be taken into account in determining the amount of any such payment which may become payable to or in respect of his dependants, provision may be made by regulations under section 7 of this Act for the payment, out of the fund referred to in that section, of such sum as may be determined in accordance with the regulations.

PART III — Miscellaneous and General

Application of Act to teachers not engaged in reckonable service and others.

10

• (1) Regulations under this section may provide that such provisions of this Act and of regulations made under this Act as may be prescribed shall apply in relation to such teachers or other persons to whom this section applies as may be prescribed.

• (2) Any application, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, of any provision of this Act or of regulations made thereunder may be made subject to any modifications or exceptions specified in the regulations.

• (3) This section applies to teachers who are not for the time being engaged in reckonable service and to persons who are not teachers but who are engaged in employment which involves the performance of duties in connection with the provision of education or of services ancillary to education.

Application of Act to part-time teachers and teachers whose reckonable service is temporarily discontinued.

11

• (1) In their application to teachers who are not full-time teachers, the provisions of sections 3 to 5 of and Schedule 1 to this Act and of regulations made under this Act shall have effect subject to such modifications and exceptions as may be specified in the regulations.

• (2) Provision may be made by regulations enabling a teacher whose employment in reckonable service is discontinued for a period, not exceeding such maximum period as may be determined in accordance with the regulations to be appropriate in his case, to pay contributions in respect of that period of such amounts as may be so determined; and the regulations may provide that any period during which such contributions are paid shall be treated as a period of reckonable service for the purposes of such provisions of sections 3 to 5 of and Schedule 1 to this Act and of regulations made under this Act as may be prescribed.

Collection of contributions.

12

• (1) Regulations may provide that, in such cases as may be prescribed, sums payable by teachers in respect of contributions shall be deducted from their salaries by their employers.

• (2) Regulations may make provision for—

• (a) the collection of sums deducted as mentioned in subsection (1) of this section and of employers' contributions by deductions from grants payable out of moneys provided by Parliament;

• (b) the charging of interest at such rate as may from time to time be prescribed on contributions which have not been duly paid to the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Act.

Payment of deferred annuities.

13

All deferred annuities payable in respect of Scottish contributions to the deferred annuity fund established under the Elementary School Teachers (Superannuation) Act 1898 shall be paid by the Secretary of State ; and any sums required by the Secretary of State for making payments under this section shall be charged on and issued out of the Consolidated Fund.

Payment of benefits on death.

14

Regulations may authorise the payment, without confirmation or other proof of title, of any sum due under this Act in respect of a teacher or any other person who has died, to his personal representatives or such other persons as may be prescribed.

Protection of benefits from creditors.

15