A £1m discrepancy in council pensions (From This Is Wiltshire)

A £1m discrepancy in council pensions

9:00pm Monday 6th February 2012 in News By Josh Layton

A RETIRED Royal Mail worker has called on Swindon Council to explain an apparent £1m discrepancy in figures for its employee pension scheme.

Terry Reynolds submitted a Freedom of Information Act request that was near-identical to one sent by the Taxpayers’ Alliance – but was given a different answer.

The Adver reported last week the pressure group had revealed the local authority’s contributions amounted to more than £9m between 2010 and 2011.

The council’s answer also showed that six Swindon councillors were receiving a share of the cash – despite being in roles traditionally regarded as voluntary.

Mr Reynolds, 66, from Upper Stratton, submitted a similar request but was told the overall amount was £8.1m.

He said: “I took the information at face value and worked out it equalled £6 for every Swindon household in council tax band D. Then they give out a different figure. I feel that the amount given in the answer to my request was false information.

“I put in the request because I wanted to find out what the council was spending on pensions for its workers.

“I have a private pension, which I have always paid to maintain, but I think using taxpayers’ money to fund private pensions is wrong.

“As far as councillors are concerned we should go back to the days before Blair, when they only got paid an allowance for meetings and other essential duties. The fact they are claiming pensions is diabolical.”

The Alliance’s figures showed the council pensions fund was equivalent to £47 a year for each person in Swindon. The figures relate only to the amount the council pays into the scheme, to which workers also contribute every month. The money does not come directly from council tax but campaigners say the money, paid by the town hall into the Local Government Pension Scheme, ultimately comes from the public purse.

Employer pension contributions by the council worked out at £9,668,232 for 2010 to 2011 – a rise of £486 on the year before, the Alliance’s figures showed.

A council spokesman said: “The figures are not the same because the questions asked by Mr Reynolds and the Taxpayers’ Alliance were different.

“The answer given to Mr Reynolds was for the financial year 2011-12, and refers to the cost of pensions to council tax payers only, which is what he wanted to know.

“The Taxpayers’ Alliance figure was for the financial year 2009-10. It does not include schools and fire staff, but does include other council staff whose employer contributions come from sources other than the council, such as within housing.”