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10 1956

LOCAL GOVERNMENT (SUPERANNUATION) ACT, 1956

PART IV.

Additional Benefits.

Allowance to widow.

50. —(1) Subject to regulations, a local authority and a male pensionable officer of such authority who is married and whose wife is living may enter into an agreement for the purposes of this section for the benefit of such wife.

(2) Subject to regulations, where—

(a) a person has entered into an agreement for the purposes of this section with a local authority,

(b) he dies while he is an officer of that local authority or while an allowance under section 15 of this Act is payable to him by that local authority, and

(c) he is survived by his wife, such wife being the wife for whose benefit the agreement was entered into,

the local authority shall pay to the wife an allowance equal to

(i) in case he was in the service of that local authority at the time of his death, one-third of the allowance that he would have been granted if he had not died but had ceased to hold his office by reason of permanent infirmity of mind or body, or

(ii) in case an allowance under section 15 of this Act is payable to him by that local authority at the time of his death, one-third of that allowance.

(3) An allowance under this section shall, notwithstanding section 60 of this Act, cease to be payable if and when the widow remarries.

(4) An agreement for the purposes of this section shall have effect in accordance with its terms (subject, however, to the regulations) notwithstanding any other provision of this or any other Act.

(5) A local authority shall have a discretion as to whether they will or will not enter into an agreement for the purposes of this section, subject to the proviso that they shall not enter into the agreement unless they are satisfied that the officer is in good health.

(6) In this section “agreement for the purposes of this section” means an agreement that any lump sum or death gratuity that may become payable under this Act to or in respect of the officer concerned shall be diminished by deducting therefrom the appropriate fraction.

(7) In subsection (6) of this section “the appropriate fraction” means—

(a) in a case in which either a lump sum is payable and an allowance under this section may subsequently become payable or a death gratuity and an allowance under this section is payable—such fraction as, at the time when such sum or gratuity becomes payable, stands specified by regulations as the fraction proper for the purposes of this section in that case, and

(b) in any other case—the appropriate one of such fractions (less than the fraction referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection) as, at the time when such sum or gratuity becomes payable, stand specified by regulations as the proper fractions for the purposes of this section in those cases.

(8) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this section and the regulations shall be in such terms as, in the opinion of the Minister, secure that deductions from lump sums and death gratuities are, in general and taking one period with another, not less than sufficient to meet the liabilities of local authorities under such agreements as they may enter into under this section.

(9) As soon as may be after the expiration of ten years from the passing of this Act, and thereafter at intervals of not more than ten years, the Minister shall review the operation of this section and, where appropriate in consequence of any such review, shall amend the regulations under this section.

Surrender of portion of allowance.

51. —(1) Where—

(a) a male officer or servant of a local authority ceases to hold his office or employment, and

(b) he is entitled to an allowance under Part II or Part III of this Act,

he may apply to the local authority to be allowed to surrender a specified portion, not exceeding one-third, of such allowance in consideration of an allowance for his wife or one specified dependant.

(2) Where—

(a) a female officer or servant of a local authority ceases to hold her office or employment, and

(b) she is entitled to an allowance under Part II or Part III of this Act,

she may apply to the local authority to be allowed to surrender a specified portion, not exceeding one-third, of such allowance in consideration of an allowance for one specified dependant.

(3) An application under subsection (1) of this section for an allowance for the wife of the applicant shall be either—

(a) an application for such allowance during the period (if any) for which the wife survives the applicant, or

(b) an application for such allowance during both the period of the joint lives of the applicant and the wife and the period (if any) for which the wife survives the applicant.

(4) Where an application is made under this section for the surrender of portion of an allowance, the local authority may, at their discretion, refuse or allow the application, subject to the proviso that they shall not allow the application unless they are satisfied that the applicant is in good health.

(5) Where an application under this section for the surrender of portion of an allowance is allowed—

(a) that allowance shall be reduced accordingly,

(b) if the application is for a surrender in consideration of an allowance for the wife of the applicant during the period (if any) for which she survives the applicant, the local authority shall grant to her, if she survives the applicant, an allowance during the period for which she survives him,

(c) if the application is for a surrender in consideration of an allowance for the wife of the applicant during both the period of the joint lives of the applicant and the wife and the period (if any) for which the wife survives the applicant, the local authority shall grant to the wife an allowance during the period of the joint lives and, if the wife survives the applicant, during the period for which she survives him, and

(d) if the application is for a surrender in consideration of an allowance for a dependant, the local authority shall grant to the dependant, if the dependant survives the applicant, an allowance during the period for which the dependant survives the applicant.

(6) An allowance under this section shall be of such value as is actuarially equivalent (in accordance with such tables as, at the time when the applicant ceased to hold office or employment, stood approved of for the purposes of this section by the Minister) to what is surrendered.

(7) In the case of an allowance under this section during both the period of the joint lives of the applicant and his wife and the period (if any) for which his wife survives the applicant, the rate of the allowance for the second period shall be double the rate thereof for the first period.

(8) An allowance under this section shall not exceed the reduced allowance of the applicant.

(9) Where a person surrenders under this section portion of an allowance—

(a) for the purpose of determining whether any, and, if so, what amount may be paid to him, having regard to paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 62 of this Act, by way of the allowance in respect of any period in relation to which he receives any such payment as is referred to in that paragraph, the remuneration referred to in that paragraph shall be treated as reduced by the amount surrendered by him as aforesaid,

(b) for the purpose of calculating the amount of any gratuity which may be granted to his legal personal representative under section 21 (where applicable) of this Act, the total of all the sums received by him on foot of the lump sum and allowance shall be deemed to be the total of all sums which would have been so received by him but for the surrender, and

(c) for the purpose of calculating the amount of any gratuity which may be granted to his legal personal representative under section 41 (where applicable) of this Act, the total of all sums received by him on foot of the allowance shall be deemed to be the total of all sums which would have been so received by him but for the surrender.

Gratuity or allowance in case of injury.

52. —(1) Where an officer or servant of a local authority is injured—

(a) in the actual discharge of his duty, and

(b) without his own default, and

(c) by some injury attributable solely to the nature of his duty,

the local authority may grant to him, and, if within seven years after the date of the injury, he dies as a direct result thereof, to his widow (or, in the case of a female officer or servant, her widowed husband), his father or mother, if wholly dependent on him at the time of his death, and to or in respect of his children, or any of them, such gratuity or allowance in money for life or for a limited period as the local authority may consider reasonable and as may be sanctioned by the Minister either generally or in any particular case.

(2) Where an allowance is granted under this section to an injured person and there is also payable to him all or any of the following:

(a) any other allowance payable by the local authority,

(b) any lump sum so payable, and

(c) any amount so payable by way of compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1934 to 1955,

the allowance under this section together with so much as may be equivalent to whatever is also payable as aforesaid shall not exceed five-sixths of the remuneration (inclusive of the money value of emoluments (being any apartments, rations or other perquisites in kind), if any) of the position in which he received the injury.

Gratuity—part-time, permanent, non-pensionable officer.

53. —Where—

(a) a permanent officer, other than a teacher, of a local authority is a part-time officer and is not a pensionable officer, and

(b) as respects such officer—

(i) he is removed from his office for a cause other than misconduct or unfitness,

(ii) his office is abolished, or

(iii) his position has been materially altered to his detriment by changes in its conditions made without reasonable cause and he resigns his office,

the local authority may grant him a gratuity equal to one-twelfth of his remuneration at the time he ceases to hold office multiplied by the number of whole years (any odd fraction of a whole year being disregarded) in the continuous period ending at the time of such grant during which paragraph (a) of this section applied to him.

Allowances in certain special cases.

54. —(1) Where—

(a) a person ceased before the passing of this Act to be a servant of a local authority,

(b) the local authority had previously adopted Part III of the Act of 1948,

(c) the person was not, on such cesser, granted a superannuation allowance by the local authority,

(d) the local authority would, at the time of such cesser, have granted him an allowance under Part III of this Act if that Part had then been in operation in relation to them, and

(e) the person applies to the local authority for the benefits of this section,

the local authority shall have power, which shall be exercisable at their discretion and as respects which, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, there shall be no appeal, to grant to such person an allowance not exceeding the allowance referred to in paragraph (d) of this subsection.

(2) A grant under subsection (1) of this section shall have effect as from the receipt by the local authority of the application for the benefits of this section, but the local authority shall have power, which shall be exercisable at their discretion and as respects which, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, there shall be no appeal, to make the grant with effect as from the passing of this Act.