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‘Wrong signals’ over councillors’ pensions
TOWN hall pensions for South Tyneside councillors could be sending out “the wrong signals,” it was claimed today.
After a big rise nationally in the number of councillors taking up local government pensions, there have been calls for a shake-up in the system.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) estimates that £1 in every £5 of council tax raised in the UK is spent on council pensions.
In its latest figures, the campaign group says that local authority pensions cost £113.88 per head of population in South Tyneside, while the total for pension contributions across South Tyneside Council – including full-time employees – stands at £17.5m.
The TPA has attacked town hall pensions for councillors, when council tax bills have almost doubled over the last decade.
In South Tyneside, the number of councillors in the town hall pension scheme rose from 22 in 2009-10 to 24 in 2010-11, out of a total of 54 elected members.
Benefits of the scheme include life insurance for partners and spouses and a lump sum at retirement.
Pensions are based on career average allowances and the number of years a councillor has been in a scheme.
Councillors can contribute six per cent of their allowances, which normally average about £10,000 a year, but can rise to £50,000. But Coun John McCabe, a Labour member for Hebburn South ward, said: “Speaking personally, I’m not in favour of pensions for councillors.
“I represent a lot of people who are really poor, and I think the fact that some councillors could be in receipt of two pensions sends out the wrong signals, particularly in the current climate.”
Coun McCabe, who works as a taxi driver, defended councillors’ allowances, but added: “I think we should be setting an example.”
Coun John Hodgson, an Independent member for Monkton, said: “My attitude to this is that it encourages full-time councillors.
“Ideally, I think councillors should work, but I also understand that some members can be penalised while working.”
But Coun Jim Perry, for the Primrose ward, Jarrow, who contributes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), defended the scheme.
He said: “The scheme is run by a responsible employer, the pension is subject to tax and all the other legal requirements and is perfectly legal.”
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Weather for Jarrow
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
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