What percentage of my Council Tax goes towards Local Government pensions?

Three Rivers District Council does not administer a pension scheme but its employees are members of the Hertfordshire Local Government Pension Scheme administered by Hertfordshire County Council and regulated by statute. In addition to the contributions made by its employees, the Council is obliged to make an employer's contribution to the Scheme.

The Council estimates that this will be in the region of £1.4m in the 2009/10 financial year. This represents 2.8% of its gross expenditure.

Council tax is derived by deducting from the council's gross expenditure the fees and charges it generates from services (e.g. leisure) and the amount of government grant, before dividing this net expenditure by the council taxbase. It is misleading, therefore, to relate the employer's pension contribution directly to the council tax since it is funded from these other sources as well.