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Asylums Officers' Superannuation Act, 1909, and Asylums and Certified Institutions
(Officers Pensions) Act., 1918.
66. We continue to deal with matters under these statutes by virtue of powers
delegated by the Council.
67. During 1923-24, 52 superannuation allowances were granted to the amount
of £4,836 3s. 7d a year. The Minister of Health consented to the addition of six
years, under section 2(3) of the 1909 Act, in the computation of one allowance.
In eight cases contributions towards pensions granted by the Council were claimed
from the authorities of other institutions at which the pensioners had served for at
least two years; these contributions, as agreed, amounted to £41 17s. 5d. a year.
In two cases, the amount to be contributed by the Council in similar circumstances
towards a pension granted by another authority was agreed at £27 6s. l1d. a year.
Superannuation
allowances.
68. Claims to the number of 156 for repayment of superannuation contributions
under section 10(1) of the Asylums Officers' Superannuation Act, 1909, were
agreed to. The total sum repaid was £921 5s. 7d.
Return of
contributions
69. Nine applications for return of contributions could not be agreed to owing
to the circumstances in which the services of the applicants had been terminated.
70. Eighty-six applications from female officers and servants, leaving to be
married, for repayment of their contributions, as permitted by section 10 (2) of the
Act of 1909, were granted. The sums returned amounted to £1,566 5s. 0d.
71. In three cases applications for return of contributions were dealt with
under section 5 of the Act of 1909, and the contributions were returned in full to
the amount of £103 1s. 2d.
72. The Council granted under section 4 of the Act of 1909 gratuities to the
widows of four members of the established staff who had died from illness while
in the service and who had either (i.) served for 20 years or more and had reached
the age specified in the statute as entitling them to retire on pension, or (ii.) had
served for at least 10 years, and in whose case it was medically certified that had
they survived their illness they would have remained permanently incapacitated for
further asylum duty, who, therefore, had they retired at the date of death, would
have been entitled to a pension. The aggregate of these four gratuities was £662
9s. l1d.
Gratuities for
widows and
children.
73. Eleven persons in receipt of pensions under these Acts died during the
year.
Deaths of
pensioners.
74. Written sanction under section 6 of the Act of 1909 was given to six officers
and servants to remove to the service of other asylum authorities.
Sanction to
remove.
75. The Minister of Health, having advised, in reply to a request made (see
Annual Report for 1922, vol. II., p. 21) that the basis of computation of proportionate
parts to be contributed under section 12 towards a pension granted to an
employee whose pensionable service had been rendered under more than two asylum
authorities, should no longer be that which the Council had consistently followed
(upon advice previously given), the Council's practice has been altered accordingly.
Payment of
pension by
different
authorities.
76. The Minister of Health expressed an opinion in August, 1923, based on
advice of the Law Officers of the Crown, to the effect that the term "removal"
used in section 6 of the 1909 Act refers to a direct removal from the service of one
employer to that of another, without a break, and that the words in section 12 "has
removed with the written sanction" contemplate a sanction given to the acceptance
of another office at or before the time when the original office is resigned. The
Council's practice, founded on Counsel's opinion, has been to regard the term
"removal" as applying to all cases of subsequent employment even after a break,
and to give the sanction to remove mentioned in the proviso to section 6 either
before or after subsequent employment has commenced. It is found that the
adoption of the Minister's advice leads to anomalous results in cases which are closely
Removal.