Local Government and Other Authorities (Superannuation) Act 1927 (NSW)

Local Government and Other Authorities (Superannuation) Act 1927 No 35 An Act to provide a scheme of Superannuation for certain employees of the Councils of Shires and Municipalities and of certain other authorities; and for purposes connected therewith. Part 1 Introductory 1 Name of Act (1) This Act may be cited as the Local Government and Other Authorities (Superannuation) Act 1927. (2) In this Act the expression the Principal Act means the Local Government Act 1919. (3) Unless the context necessarily requires a different meaning, expressions defined in the Principal Act shall bear the same meanings in this Act. (4) (Repealed) 2 Commencement and application of Act (1) This Act shall commence on a day not earlier than the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven, to be appointed by the Governor and notified by proclamation published in the Gazette not less than six weeks before the date of commencement. (2) This Act shall apply to and in respect of town clerks, shire clerks, municipal engineers, shire engineers and health inspectors of any council, and to such other servant or servants or class of servants of councils as the Governor may by proclamation published in the Gazette from time to time direct. Classes of servants may be defined in any such proclamation by reference to the occupation, age, sex, past service, or salary of the servants to whom this Act is to be applied. (3) This Act shall also apply to and in respect of every veterinary inspector who shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be a servant of a pastures protection board as defined in the Pastures Protection Act 1934. (4) (a) This Act shall also apply to and in respect of such servant or servants or class of servants of any body or association of persons, corporate or unincorporate, as the Governor may by proclamation published in the Gazette from time to time direct. (b) For the purposes of the application of the provisions of this Act to any such servants or class of servants a reference in this Act to a council or permanent servant shall be read and construed as a reference to any such body or association of persons or the servant of such body or association of persons to whom this Act is applied pursuant to paragraph (a), as the case may require. (c) Classes of servants may be defined in any proclamation under this subsection by reference to the occupation, age, sex, past service, or salary of the servants to whom this Act is to be applied. (5) Without affecting the operation of the foregoing provisions of this section, the Governor may by proclamation published in the Gazette declare any body or association of persons, corporate or unincorporate, to be an employing authority for the purposes of the definition of employer in section 15AL (1). 3 Definitions In this Act, unless inconsistent with the context or subject-matter— Administration Account means the STC Administration Account maintained under the Superannuation Administration Act 1996. Approved means approved by the Governor by notification published in the Gazette. Benefits Fund means the Superannuation Benefits Fund established under section 15S. Board means the SAS Trustee Corporation continued under the Superannuation Administration Act 1996. Contingent Account means the Contingent Account established under section 17P. Council includes County Council, urban committee, any joint committee constituted by any two or more councils under the Principal Act and a pastures protection board as defined in the Pastures Protection Act 1934. Fund of the board means the Provident Fund, the Benefits Fund, the Pension Fund, the Management Account, the Contingent Account, the reserve account under section 4A or the reserve account under section 13A. Future service factor means the difference between the number of years of the age at next birthday of a permanent servant at the time of his taking out a policy of insurance under this Act and sixty-five years. Insurance company extends and applies to any company, society or body of persons incorporated or regulated, or enabled to sue and be sued, by any charter or Act and associated together with the object solely, or amongst others, of granting policies upon lives or entering into contracts for future endowments by way of annuity or otherwise; and also includes any Government department, mutual indemnity association, or other body undertaking insurance under this Act. Past service factor means the number of completed years of past service, not exceeding in any case twenty years, of a permanent servant at the time at which this Act is applied to him, including war service with the Australian Expeditionary Forces where the permanent servant at the time of enlisting was in the employment of a council. Pension Fund means the Local Government Pension Fund established under section 15AZ. Permanent servant means town clerk, shire clerk, municipal engineer, shire engineer, health inspector, or other servant of a council to whom the provisions of this Act may by proclamation be extended. The expression permanent servant includes a veterinary inspector who shall be deemed to be the permanent servant of a pastures protection board which pays his salary or any part thereof. Prescribed employment benefit means an employment benefit of a kind referred to in paragraph (b), (c) or (e) of the definition of employment benefit in section 42K (1) of the Public Sector Management Act 1988. Provident Fund means the Local Government Provident Fund established under section 8. Regulations means regulations under this Act. Relieving allowance means an allowance paid to the holder of an office or position for performing any or all of the duties of another office or position, without his being appointed to that other office or position on a permanent basis. Salary means salary determined in accordance with section 3A or 3B and expressed as an annual rate. Service means service of a servant in any capacity, whether continuous or broken, with one or more councils. Total service factor means future service factor added to past service factor. Veterinary inspector means a veterinary inspector appointed under the Pastures Protection Act 1934. 3A Salary (1) For the purposes of this Act, salary, in relation to a servant of an employer, means the remuneration, salary or wages payable in money to the servant in the servant's capacity as a servant of the employer, as reported to the Board from time to time by the servant's employer, including— (a) a loading in respect of any shift allowance, as determined in accordance with the regulations, and (b) other allowances payable in money that are of a kind included within the value of leave paid on termination of employment, but does not include the excluded amounts or allowances referred to in subsection (2). (2) The excluded amounts or allowances are— (a) an amount paid for overtime or as a bonus, or an allowance instead of overtime, (b) except to the extent determined in accordance with the regulations, as referred to in subsection (1) (a)—an amount paid as shift allowance, (c) except to the extent that this section otherwise provides—a relieving allowance, (d) an expense allowance or an allowance for travelling, subsistence or other expenses, (e) an equipment allowance, and (f) an amount paid for rent or as a residence, housing or quarters allowance. (3) If a servant's employer, or a person authorised to do so on behalf of the employer, certifies in writing to the Board that a relieving allowance to be, or being, paid to the servant in the servant's capacity as a servant is likely to be paid for a continuous period of 1 year (whether or not the period is partly before the date of the certificate), the allowance is, as from— (a) the date on which the certificate is lodged with the Board, or (b) the date from which the allowance becomes payable, whichever is the later, salary for the purposes of this Act. (4) If a relieving allowance has been paid to a servant in the servant's capacity as a servant for a continuous period of 1 year that ends after the commencement of this section and, during that period, the allowance has not been treated as part of the servant's salary in accordance with subsection (3), the allowance shall, as from the expiration of that period of 1 year, be treated as part of the servant's salary while its payment to the servant continues. (5) In this section, shift allowance means an allowance paid to a servant in respect of shift work performed by the servant, and includes amounts paid as penalty rates. (6) Any allowances or other kinds of remuneration treated as salary immediately before the commencement of this section in relation to a servant shall continue to be treated as salary for the purposes of this Act, but only in relation to that servant. 3B (Repealed) Part 2 Insurance provisions 4 Compulsory insurance (1) Every permanent servant of a council shall effect in manner prescribed in this section with an approved insurance company within such time as may be prescribed an endowment insurance policy maturing at the age of sixty-five years (which shall be the retiring age of all permanent servants coming within the provisions of this Part) or previous death according to the scale of compulsory cover set forth in the Schedule to this Act. Where and so often as the salary of a permanent servant is increased he shall within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed effect additional insurance for such further amount as will together with the amount for which he is already insured pursuant to this section, if any, equal the amount for which he would have been required to effect insurance if such increased salary had been payable to him at the time the endowment insurance policy subsisting in respect of him was effected or deemed to have been effected pursuant to this section. (1A) In its application to permanent servants effecting endowment insurance policies as required by subsection (1) after the commencement of the Local Government and Other Authorities (Superannuation) Amendment Act 1959 the said subsection (1) shall be read and construed as if the words "the Schedule" were omitted therefrom and the word and letter "Schedule A" were substituted therefor. (2) Proposals for insurance under this section shall be lodged with the board by the permanent servants concerned, and as agent for the proponents the board may with the approval of the Minister agree with an approved insurance company or companies for the issue of the policies applied for. (3) The board may with the like approval arrange with any approved insurance company or companies for the insurance of a group or groups of permanent servants in such manner as to ensure that each permanent servant concerned in any group shall be covered to the extent provided in subsection (1). The inclusion of any permanent servant under any group insurance policy shall be deemed to be sufficient compliance with subsection (1). (4) (a) All such policies shall be handed to and shall be held by the board until the policy moneys are payable, and shall then be delivered to the permanent servant who has been insured or to his personal representatives. (b) In the event of any permanent servant ceasing to be employed by any council before the policy moneys become payable such person shall be entitled to receive from the board any policy held upon his behalf, subject to payment to the board of any moneys which may have been paid in respect of the premium for any unexpired balance of the then current period covered by such premium, and to the payment to the board of any moneys due by such permanent servant to the council in respect of the policy. Where any such permanent servant is included in a group policy of insurance the board may arrange with the insurance company or companies concerned to pay to such permanent servant the surrender value of his interest in any such group policy. The board shall fix and the permanent servant shall pay to the board the part of the premium paid by the board on his behalf for the then current period of the policy attributable to the unexpired portion of that period, and also pay to the board any moneys due by such permanent servant to the council in respect of the policy. (c) The board shall immediately upon receipt of any such moneys payable to the council pay the same over to the council. (d) The board, if it sees fit, may arrange with any insurance company or companies with which insurance of any group of permanent servants has been effected under this Act to enable any permanent servant who is a member of such group and who notifies the board that he desires so to do, to continue his insurance in such group after he ceases to be employed by any council provided that he undertakes to pay and pays to the board periodically at the proper times the amount for premiums and other moneys which would have been payable by a council under this Act on the council's and on his own behalf had he remained in the service of a council. (e) In the event of the death of a permanent servant during the currency of a policy the policy moneys shall stand charged with the repayment to the board of so much of the premium paid by the board in respect of the current premium period as is fixed by the board as being attributable to the unexpired portion of that period. The board shall before handing any policy to the personal representatives of a deceased permanent servant arrange for the collection of the amount. (f) (i) Where a permanent servant ceases to be employed by any council and advises the board that he does not wish to take over or to continue any policy on his life effected under this Act or fails to advise the board of his wishes in this regard within one month after the posting of a notice by the board to his last known address or fails to pay on demand any moneys payable by him to the board, the board may arrange with the insurance company or companies concerned for the cancellation of such policy at such date as the board may decide upon. The moneys paid by the insurance company or companies concerned shall be paid to the board and applied by it as follows— (a) firstly, in or towards payment to the board, of any moneys due to it by the permanent servant on any account, and (b) secondly, in or towards payment of the part of the premium paid for the then current period of the policy attributable to the unexpired portion of that period and any moneys due by the permanent servant to the council in respect of the policy, and (c) thirdly, in payment of the balance to the permanent servant. Where any balance so paid to a permanent servant is not equal to the quota of premium or premiums, or contribution or contributions, paid by him in respect of the policy and where the board has received commission from the insurance company or companies concerned in respect of such policy the board from its reserve account may make such payment as it deems equitable to the permanent servant but the amount so payable to the permanent servant together with the balance referred to above shall not exceed the amount of such servant's quota of premium or premiums, or contribution or contributions, paid by him in respect of the policy. (ii) Where the policy on the life of a permanent servant to whom this paragraph applies has not been in force for more than one year or for a sufficient time to enable a surrender value to attach to such policy and where the board has received commission from the insurance company or companies concerned in respect of such policy the board from its reserve account may make such payments as it deems equitable to the council last employing such permanent servant and to the permanent servant, but— (a) the amount payable to the council shall not exceed the amount of the council's quota of premium or premiums, or contribution or contributions, paid in respect of the policy, and (b) the amount payable to the permanent servant shall not exceed the amount of such servant's quota of premium or premiums, or contribution or contributions, paid by him in respect of the policy. (5) Any permanent servant who has his life insured at the commencement of this Act or upon the provisions of this Act being applied to him or at the commencement of his employment with a council may make arrangements with the board for the acceptance of his subsisting policy in lieu of effecting insurance as provided in subsection (1). If the board accepts such policy as satisfying the provisions of subsection (1) such permanent servant shall lodge the policy with the board, and thereupon such policy or policies shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be policies effected under subsection (1). The council's quota payable as hereinafter defined, in respect of such policy or policies, shall not in any such case be calculated on the premium or premiums actually payable on such policy or policies, but shall be calculated on the rate of premium which would have been payable if a new policy were effected under subsection (1) at the then age of such permanent servant. (6) No policy effected under this section or any other section of this Act and no bonus declared in respect thereof shall be assigned, transferred, surrendered, mortgaged, charged, or encumbered in any manner whatsoever, so long as the permanent servant concerned is employed by any council. (7) A policy effected in pursuance of this section shall have the protection afforded by section 4 of the Life, Fire, and Marine Insurance Act 1902 whatever may be the time during which such policy has endured, and section 5 of the said Act shall not apply thereto. (8) This section applies to every permanent servant employed by a council at or after the commencement of this Act, and not exempted from the obligations of this section by virtue of the provisions of section 7— Provided that the board may in any special case, on application being made to it as prescribed, if it is of the opinion that it is for the benefit of any permanent servant, exempt such servant from the obligations under this section for a period to be decided by it or postpone the application of the Act to any such permanent servant for such period as may be decided by it. 4A Reserve fund The board may set aside from time to time a portion not exceeding twenty per centum of any moneys received by it by way of commission or otherwise for the effecting of insurance on the lives of permanent servants as elsewhere provided in this Act and place such portion to a reserve account. Interest derived from the investment of the reserve account shall form part thereof. The board may use the income and capital of such reserve account in making payments of premiums on the policy of a permanent servant who may be temporarily out of a council's employment, or to secure the surrender value of a policy and making payments to councils and permanent servants pursuant to paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of section 4. Any payments so made together with interest at the prescribed rate shall be a charge on any policy moneys coming to the hands of the board on such surrender. The board may at any time in its discretion pay from such reserve account any amount which it deems to be in excess of its requirements for the above purposes to its management account. 5 Optional further units A permanent servant of a council who has not attained the age of fifty-five years and— (a) who before the commencement of the Local Government and Other Authorities (Superannuation) Amendment Act 1959 has effected a policy of insurance under section 4, may, if such policy is still subsisting, within six months after such commencement or thereafter at such times as may be prescribed, or (b) who after the commencement of the Local Government and Other Authorities (Superannuation) Amendment Act 1959 effects a policy of insurance under section 4 may, upon effecting such policy or thereafter at such times as may be prescribed, effect one or more optional cover units of insurance of two hundred dollars each, but so that the total of the compulsory and optional cover (including in a case to which paragraph (a) applies any optional cover effected before such commencement) so effected shall not exceed twelve thousand dollars. Application for such optional units shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed. Any permanent servant who has effected insurance through the board under section 4 may request the board to accept any existing policy of insurance on his life in lieu of taking out further optional units as provided in this section. The board may if it sees fit accept such policy provided it is satisfied that such policy to be handed to the board for its acceptance is the equivalent of the optional units of cover applied for, and the provisions of this section shall thereafter apply with respect to such policy as if the permanent servant concerned had taken out optional units as provided. The council's quota payable as hereinafter defined, in respect of such policy or policies, shall not in any such case be calculated on the premium or premiums actually payable on such policy or policies, but shall be calculated on the rate of premium which would have been payable if a new policy were effected for the optional units of cover applied for at the then age of such permanent servant. 6 Payment of premiums (1) Where a permanent servant of a council effects a policy of insurance in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Act— (a) the board shall pay the premiums to the insurance company concerned, and the council for the time being employing him shall make contributions to the board equal to those premiums, (b) contributions payable under paragraph (a) by a council shall, in respect of any period commencing on or after 1 April 1977, be calculated on a monthly basis, and the contributions payable in respect of a month shall be paid to the board within 7 days after the last day of the month to which they relate, (c) contributions payable under paragraph (a) by a council in respect of a person who was a permanent servant of the council for a part, but not the whole, of a month are payable only for that part of the month during which he was a permanent servant of the council, and, for the purposes of this paragraph, contributions shall be calculated on a daily basis, (d) the board may in any particular case charge interest at a rate to be prescribed calculated on a daily basis on any contribution not paid within the period prescribed by this Part. Such interest shall be recoverable by the board in the same way in which premiums are recoverable. Such interest shall not be chargeable by the council against any permanent servant, (e) the board may in the case of any permanent servant whom it deems and while it deems such permanent servant to be only temporarily out of employment pay any premiums payable for the purpose of retaining any existing insurance of such permanent servant, if such permanent servant shall so request. In such case interest shall be payable by such permanent servant upon all moneys paid by the board, calculated at the rate to be prescribed. All such moneys and interest shall be recoverable by the board from such permanent servant in the same manner as any moneys payable by a council to the board hereunder. All such moneys may be paid by the board and until repayment shall with the interest thereon be a charge upon the policy and all moneys to be received thereunder. The board may include any moneys payable to it under this paragraph in any notice for payment of contribution sent by it to any council in whose employment such permanent servant may be thereafter and the same shall be deducted by it as prescribed from any salary or other moneys payable by the council to the said servant and paid to the board. (2) Every permanent servant of a council in respect of whom the council shall have paid any such contribution shall be liable to the council for so much thereof as shall remain after deducting the council's quota calculated as hereinafter provided. The council may deduct such residue or any part thereof from any sum which may be or may become due by the council to such permanent servant by way of salary or otherwise by periodical instalments as prescribed. The council may sue for and recover any balance due by any permanent servant in respect of contributions paid by the council under this section which it may not have recovered by deductions from salary or otherwise as aforesaid. (3) (Repealed) (4) The council's quota of the contribution payable in respect of the compulsory cover provided for in section 4 and of the contribution payable in respect of the optional cover units provided for in section 5 shall be one moiety of each such contribution— Provided that where optional cover units have been effected before the commencement of the Local Government (Superannuation) Amendment Act 1940 or where optional cover units in respect of which application has been made to the board before such commencement are effected after such commencement the council's quota for the contribution payable in respect thereof shall be a proportion of that contribution corresponding to the ratio that the past service factor bears to the total service factor. (4A) (Repealed) (5) The board shall pay the amounts received by it for premiums into a special account with a bank, building society or credit union to be called "The Local Government (Servants) Insurance Account". From such account the board shall pay the premiums on the policies of insurance effected under section 4. Cheques drawn on this account by the board shall be signed as prescribed. (6) In subsection (1), month has the meaning ascribed to that expression by section 15AL. Part 3 Provident Fund provisions 7 Exemption (1) Every permanent servant of a council who at the commencement of this Act or at the date upon which the provisions of this Act are applied to him or at the date of his appointment (as the case may be)— (a) has attained the age of fifty-five years, or (b) having attained the age of fifty years elects within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed to contribute to the Provident Fund, or (c) being under the age of fifty-five years duly applies through the board to an insurance company for a policy of insurance under section 4 and— (i) is refused by such insurance company, or (ii) is informed that such insurance company will not accept the risk except upon the condition of his being charged a premium in respect of such policy at the rate charged by such insurance company for an age seven years or more greater than his actual age, or (iii) is informed that such insurance company will not accept the risk except upon the condition of his being charged a premium in respect of such policy at the rate charged by such insurance company for an age three or more years greater but not exceeding six years greater than his actual age, and who elects within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed to contribute to the Provident Fund, shall be exempted from the obligation to effect insurance under section 4. (2) Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) (as amended by the Local Government (Superannuation) Amendment Act 1935), shall not be construed to extend to any case of a permanent servant who prior to the commencement of that Act had attained the age of fifty years and prior to such commencement has arranged with the board to insure or has effected insurance pursuant to section 4. 7A Election to insure under sec 4 (1) Where a permanent servant is, in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 7, exempted from the obligation to effect insurance under section 4 and is subsequently informed by an insurance company that such insurance company will accept the risk and that the premium charged in respect of the policy will not exceed the rate charged by such insurance company for an age six years greater than his actual age, such servant may elect, in the manner prescribed, to discontinue his contributions to the Provident Fund. (2) Where a permanent servant so elects to discontinue his contributions to the Provident Fund, he shall, within such time as may be prescribed, effect insurance under section 4. (3) Upon such insurance being effected by the permanent servant— (a) the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of section 13 shall cease to apply to or in respect of such permanent servant, and (b) there shall be refunded to the council which has made the contribution to the Provident Fund required by subsection (1) of section 13 in respect of such permanent servant for the year current at the date upon which such insurance is effected such proportion of that contribution as shall be attributable to the portion of that year which is unexpired at such date. (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15, the board may, with the consent of a permanent servant who has elected under this section to effect insurance under section 4, apply moneys standing to the credit of such permanent servant in the Provident Fund in payment of his proportion of any premiums on insurance effected by him under Part 2. 7B Certain servants insured under Part 2 may contribute to Provident Fund (1) A permanent servant who is insured under the provisions of section 4 and has attained the age of fifty years but is under the age of fifty-five years may, in lieu of effecting additional insurance in accordance with section 4 or 5, request, in the prescribed manner, that contributions be made to the Provident Fund on his behalf in respect of any number of additional cover units of insurance of two hundred dollars each for which he is eligible. (2) A permanent servant who is insured under the provisions of section 4 and is under the age of fifty years and has applied through the board to an insurance company for an additional policy of insurance under section 4 or 5 and such application has been refused by such insurance company or has been informed that such insurance company will not accept the risk except upon the condition of his being charged a premium in respect of such policy at the rate charged by such insurance company for an age three years or more greater than his actual age, may, in lieu of effecting such additional insurance, request, in the prescribed manner, that contributions be made to the Provident Fund on his behalf in respect of any number of additional cover units of insurance of two hundred dollars each for which he would have been eligible if there had not been such a refusal or loading. 7C Additional contributions to Provident Fund (1) A permanent servant who at the commencement of the Local Government and Other Authorities (Superannuation) Amendment Act 1959 has attained the age of fifty-five years and is insured under the provisions of section 4 or sections 4 and 5 or is a permanent servant in respect of whom contributions are made to the Provident Fund or is so insured and is a permanent servant in respect of whom contributions are made as aforesaid may, within six months after such commencement or thereafter at such times as may be prescribed, request, in the prescribed manner, that contributions or additional contributions be made annually to the Provident Fund on his behalf of an amount which does not exceed— (a) the difference between—