Pensionable pay for elected members
Pensionable pay is the pay used to work out your pension. In most cases, it is also the pay from which your contributions are deducted.
The meaning of pensionable pay for elected members is different than for employees.
Pensionable pay for councillors and mayors is the total of following amounts paid under the authority’s approved remuneration scheme:
- Basic allowances
- Special responsibility allowances
- Relevant allowances
- Any relevant salary paid
A relevant allowance is an allowance paid under a combined authority or combined county authority establishment order except travel and subsistence allowances. Travel and subsistence allowances are not pensionable.
The remuneration scheme must be established under one of the following:
- the Local Authorities (Member’s Allowances)(England) Regulations 2003
- the Greater London Authority Act 1999
- a Combined Authority establishment order
- Combined County Authority establishment regulations,
- a remuneration arrangement for members of the Common Council of the City of London.
In practice, this generally means that where an eligible elected member receives a salary or any of the allowances listed above from:
- the authority to which they are elected
- a combined authority
- a combined county authority
- a fire and rescue authority
that allowance / salary will be pensionable if they elect to join the Scheme.