Municipal Pensions Civil Service

Judicial Pensions.—The Lord Chancellor of Great Britain receives a pension of L5,0oo however short a time he may have held office, but he usually continues to act as a Law Lord in the House of Lords without salary. Judges receive pensions— in England, ranging from £3,500 to £4,000, and in Scotland, of of salary—after Is years' service or on retirement through perma nent ill health. County Court Judges, Metropolitan Police Magis trates and Scottish Sheriffs and their substitutes receive pensions under special Acts.

Municipal, etc., Pensions.—A considerable number of Brit ish local authorities have obtained special parliamentary powers for giving pensions to their staff. The Local Government, etc., Officers' Superannuation Act, 1922, laid down a pension scheme which local authorities, other than Poor Law authorities in Eng land and Asylum authorities, may under certain conditions adopt if they wish. Under that scheme, officials and servants who oc cupy pensionable posts are eligible for pensions, towards which they have to contribute 5% of their pay. Pension is payable, after not less than 1 o years of local authority service, on retirement for permanent ill-health or at age 65 (or age 6o after 4o years' service), and amounts to of salary (on the average of last 5 years) for each year of service, with a maximum of ft. Service before contributions commenced normally reckons in one-hun dred-and-twentieths, instead of sixtieths. Contributions, less any pension received, are returnable at death or on termination of employment before becoming eligible for a pension, in some cases with, and in others without, interest. The pension scheme for English Poor Law officers and servants, laid down in the Poor Law Officers' Superannuation Acts 1896 and 1897, gives benefits generally similar to those under the Local Government, etc., Officers' Superannuation Act, 1922. The employee, however, contributes only 2% of his pay, and service before contributions commenced reckons in full in all cases, but the contribution re quired is 24,-% if the non-contributing service was more than 5 but less than 15 years and 3% if it exceeded 15 years. Asylum officers, other than officers of the Metropolitan Asylums Board who elected to remain under the Poor Law Officers' Superannua tion Acts, are pensionable under the Asylum Officers' Superannua tion Act, 1909.

School Teachers' Pensions.—By the School Teachers (Super annuation) Act, 1918, which applies to England and Wales, full time teachers in schools aided by state grants and in a few other schools, became eligible for superannuation benefits generally similar to those applicable to male civil servants who entered after 1909 (see under CIVIL SERVICE), except that pensions are calculated on average salary for the last 5 years of service. The whole cost of these benefits was to be borne by the state. From June r, 1922, however, the teachers were required to contribute 5% of their salaries towards the cost of the benefits. In 1925, following the Report of the Departmental Committee on the Superannuation of School Teachers (Cmd. 1962), which gives a brief history of teachers' superannuation in England and Scot land prior to April 1, 1919, the Teachers (Superannuation) Act, 1925, was passed amplifying the scheme and imposing a contribu tion of 5% of salaries also on the teachers' employers, to com mence from April 1, 1928. The To% total contributions are on the basis of covering the cost of the benefits in respect of future service: the cost in respect of service prior to April 1, 1928, re duced by the teachers' contributions since 1922, remains a charge on the Exchequer. As regards Scotland, the position since April

I, 1919, has been generally similar except that the employers' contributions commenced from April 1, 1926. The benefits are paid from, and the contributions to, the Education (Scotland) Fund, to which the Exchequer contributes each year 4-4- of the net expenditure (benefits paid less contributions received) during the year on teachers' superannuation in England and Wales.

Police Pensions.

Pensions for members of police forces in Great Britain are granted under the Police Pensions Act 1921. The members contribute 5% of their pay towards the cost of the pensions. The pension amounts to half of pay after 25 years' service and two-thirds of pay after 3o years' service. After not less than 10 years' service smaller pensions may be given on retirement for ill-health. Service before age 20 does not reckon. There are higher scales of pension for retirements caused by injuries received in the execution of duty. If a member has served for 5 years or more his widow receives a pension of from £30 to £5o a year according to his rank, but if his death resulted from injury sustained in the execution of his duty the widow's pension may in certain circumstances be one-third of his pay. Allowances may in certain circumstances be granted to children until they reach age 16. Members serving on July 1, 1919, were allowed, if they wished, to remain under the previous pension scheme under which a pension of two-thirds of pay could be earned after 26 years' service, but 15 years' service was neces sary to earn pension on retirement for ill-health. The Report of the Committee on the Police Service (Cmd. 253) gives some account of police pensions prior to 1921.

Ecclesiastical Pensions.

The pensions of clergy of the estab lished Church in England are regulated by contributory schemes under the Episcopal Pensions Measure, 1926, for diocesan bishops including the two archbishops, and under the Clergy Pensions Measure, 1926, for all other clergy holding ecclesiastical pre ferments and offices who were under age 55 on Dec. 31, 1926. Before the passing of these measures there were systems of pensions for deans and canons and incumbents, charged upon the incomes of their successors, and these remain in force for those members of the clergy who had attained the age of 55 on Dec. 31, 1926.

Civil List Pensions.—These are pensions granted by the sovereign upon the recommendation of the First Lord of the Treasury and paid (since 1837) from the Consolidated Fund. By I and 2 Vict. C. 2 they are to be granted to "such persons only as have just claims on the royal beneficence, or who by their personal services to the Crown, or by their performance of duties to the public, or by their useful discoveries in science and attainments in literature and the arts have merited the gracious consideration of their sovereign and the gratitude of their coun try." A sum of £1,200 is allotted each year in addition to the pensions already in force, and a list of the pensions granted each year is presented to Parliament. The pensions paid in 1926-7 amounted to £22,686. (See PENSIONS: THE UNITED STATES.) (F. SK.) PENSIONS, MINISTRY OF: see GOVERNMENT DEPART MENTS.