I move:
That the Secondary Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme, 1972, prepared by the Minister for Education, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, under the Teachers' Superannuation Act, 1928, and laid before the House on the 14th July, 1972 be confirmed.
When the comprehensive schools were being established it was arranged that the teachers concerned would be provided with a pension scheme on the same lines as that already in existence for secondary teachers. In consultation with the Department of Finance it was decided that the most effective way of providing such a scheme would be by amending the existing secondary teachers scheme to embrace teachers in comprehensive schools.
This amendment is intended to make that provision. The amendment comprises a definition of a comprehensive school teacher, and then goes on to provide that each relevant paragraph and schedule of the existing scheme is amended to include comprehensive school teachers. This amendment does not alter the secondary teachers scheme in any other way.
The essential principles of the secondary teachers scheme are broadly the same as those applying in other public service pension schemes, the main point of difference being that it is a voluntary scheme. Therefore, every comprehensive school teacher will have to decide for himself whether he will join the scheme or remain out of it. The amendment provides that a comprehensive school teacher who exercises his option to join the scheme within six months of the date of confirmation of this amendment may have all his previous teaching service in a comprehensive school made pensionable. If he has not joined within six months he may, of course, join at any later date, but then he could only reckon previous service up to a limit of 15 months in accordance with the terms of the existing scheme.
