CHAPTER 284
LOCAL AUTHORITIES SUPERANNUATION FUND ACT
Arrangement of Sections
Section
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
3. Continuous service
PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND AND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
4. Establishment of Fund
5. Establishment of Committee
PART III
FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT
6. Transfer of assets
7. Property of Fund
8. Application of Fund
9. Appointment of actuary and officers
10. Actuarial valuation of Fund
11. Accounts and audit
12. Investment of Fund and guarantee of interest
PART IV
MEMBERSHIP OF FUND
13. Local authorities
14. Repealed
15. Members of Fund
16. Evidence of health
17. Repealed
18. Temporary employees
PART V
CONTRIBUTIONS TO FUND
19. Contributions by members
20. Method of payment of members’ contributions
21. Contributions by local authorities
22. Contributions whilst on leave
23. Probationary service
24. Reduction of emoluments
PART VI
RETIREMENTS AND BENEFITS
25. Retirement benefit
26. Retirement due to age
27. Retirement due to ill health
28. Retirement due to reorganization, etc.
29. Retirement in favour of citizens of Zambia
30. Lump sum where annuity not payable
31. Retirement of female member on marriage
32. Dismissal
33. Lump sum in other cases
34. Re-employment of member
35. Death of member
36. Benefits not assignable
37. Annuity on insolvency
38. Effect of conviction
PART VII
MISCELLANEOUS
39. Interchange and secondment of members
40. Powers of Committee
41. Rules
42. Indemnities
43. Disputes
44. Application
45. Recovery of debts from benefits
46. Information to be furnished by or in respect of eligible employees and members
47. Payment to dependants
48. Payment of benefits free of bank commission
AN ACT
to make provision for the establishment of a Superannuation Fund for employees of local authorities and other public bodies; to provide for the vesting of such Fund in a Management Committee and for the powers and duties of such Committee; to provide for the payment of contributions to and pensions and gratuities from such Fund; and to provide for matters incidental to and connected with the foregoing.
[1st May, 1963]
Act 22 of 1962,
Act 22 of 1964,
Act 69 of 1965,
Act 52 of 1970,
Act 17 of 1989,
Act 14 of 1990,
Act 26 of 1991,
Act 27 of 1992,
Act 13 of 1993,
Act 30 of 1996,
Act 8 of 2015.
GN 202 of 1964,
GN 497 of 1964.
[General Note— word "pension age" wherever it appeared in the Act was substituted as "pensionalble age" by s 7 of Act 8 of 2015.]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
This Act may be cited as the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund Act.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the actuary” means the actuary appointed under the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 9;
“admitted in ill health”, in relation to a member, means admitted to the Fund on the basis of paragraph (b) of sub-section (2) of section 16, or deemed to have been admitted in ill health by virtue of the provisions of sub-section (3) or (4) of the said section;
“annuity” means an annual sum payable out of the Fund during the lifetime of a member or of the widow of a member;
“appointed day” means the date fixed under the provisions of section 4;
“associated authority” means a local authority declared to be an associated authority under the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 13 and a local authority which becomes an associated authority under the provisions of sub-section (3) of the said section;
“benefit” means a retirement benefit, additional retirement benefit, annuity, lump sum or other benefit payable to a member or his dependants out of the Fund;
“Board” means the Board of the local Authorities Superannuation Fund established under section5;
“continuous service” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3; “contributions” includes contributions paid into the existing fund; “dependant”, in relation to a member, means—
(a) any of the following persons whose name has been notified to the Committee in writing by such member—
(i) the spouse or minor child of such member;
(ii) a parent, brother, sister, stepchild, minor adopted child or adult child of such member wholly or in part dependent upon such member for support and maintenance; and
(iii) any other person who satisfies the Committee that he is wholly dependent upon such member for support and maintenance; or
(b) where such member has not so notified the Committee of the name of any such person or where there is no person surviving whose name has been so notified to the Committee—
(i) the spouse of such member;
(ii) if such spouse is deceased, all minor children of such member together with all minor stepchildren and minor adopted children of such member who are wholly or in part dependent upon him for support and maintenance;
“designated employees” means—
(a) all officers of an associated authority; and
(b) all servants of an associated authority who belong to a class or description which the associated authority has by a statutory resolution specified as a class or description, the members of, or persons falling within which, are to be designated employees;
“eligible employee” means—
(a) an officer or servant in the whole time service of a local authority on a permanent engagement; or
(b) an officer or servant engaged under contract who at the 1commencement of Act 52 of 1970 is a member of the Fund;
who has attained the age of 18 years and who is a designated employee;
“employer”, in relation to any person, means the local authority by which such person is employed;
“existing fund” means the Zambia Local Authorities Superannuation Fund established under the provisions of the Zambia Local Authorities (Superannuation Fund) Rules, 1954;
“financial year” means the period between the 1st January in any year and the 31st December next following, both dates included;
“the Fund” means the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund established under the provisions of section 4;
“the Inaugural Committee” means the committee managing the existing fund immediately before the commencement of this Act;
“local authority” means—
(a) city council;
(b) a municipal council;
(c) a township council;
(d) a district council;
(e) the Committee;
(f) any other authority or body of persons of Zambia which the Minister may, at the request of such authority or body and with the prior approval of the Committee, declare by statutory notice to be a local authority for the purposes of this Act;
“member” means any employee of a local authority who is contributing to the Fund and any person who is in receipt of an annuity;
“officer” means an employee as to whom either of the following conditions is satisfied, that is to say:
(a) that his duties are wholly or mainly administrative, professional or technical; or
(b) that his salary or wages, including cost-of-living allowance, if any, is at a rate greater than five hundred kwacha per annum;
“pensionable age” means the age of 60 years;
[“pension age” subs as “pensionable age” by s 2 of Act 8 of 2015.]
“pensionable emoluments” means—
(a) salary or wages, including cost-of-living allowance, if any;
(b) whenever free quarters are provided as a condition of service, an amount equal to one-sixth of the amount mentioned in paragraph (a) of this definition, subject to a maximum of four hundred kwacha; or
(c) where any allowance is given in lieu of the provision of free quarters, an amount equal to one-sixth of the amount mentioned in paragraph (a) of this definition, subject to a maximum of four hundred kwacha; but does not include any other allowance or any bonus or payment for overtime;
“retirement benefit” means the benefits mentioned in section 25;
“retiring pensionable emoluments” means the members annual salary at the time of retirement;
“servant” means an employee who is not an officer and who has completed two years’ unbroken service with an associated authority;
“statutory resolution” means, in relation to an associated authority, a resolution passed in the manner in which an ordinary resolution of the authority may be passed, except that 28 days’ notice of the meeting at which the resolution is passed and of the terms of the resolution and the fact that it is to be proposed at that meeting, must be given in the manner in which notice for convening ordinary meetings of the authority may be given;
“whole time service” means service wherein an employee devotes substantially the whole of his time in the employment of one or more local authorities.
[S 2 am by Act 22 of 1964, 69 of 1965, 52 of 1970, 17 of 1989, 14 of 1990, 13 of 1994.]
(1) For the purposes of this Act—
“continuous service” means the last unbroken service with a local authority after the attainment of the age of 18 years, and such service shall be calculated by the year and the month, any fraction of a month being disregarded:
Provided that where a member has made a payment for the purpose of reckoning service in accordance with the provisions of any rule made under paragraph (e) of sub-section (1) of section 41, a local authority shall include a local authority, other than an associated authority, constituted under the law of the country concerned and shall also include a civil service, a public authority or a board where superannuation transfer rights exist in the country concerned between local authorities of that country and such service, authority or board.
(2) In determining the last unbroken service of any person, the following shall not constitute breaks in service:
(a) authorised leave of absence;
(b) a break in service regarded as leave without pay or otherwise condoned by the Committee;
(c) a period of suspension followed by reinstatement in the same or another office or post;
(d) a break in service whilst transferring from one associated authority to another if such break is condoned by the Committee;
(e) a period of war service with Her Britannic Majesty’s Armed or Civil Defence Forces prior to the 1st January, 1954.
(3) In calculating the period of the continuous service of a member, any period in respect of which such member did not make payments to the existing fund or to the Fund after the local authority concerned first became associated with the existing fund or became an associated authority shall not be taken into account.
[S 3 am by Act 52 of 1970.]
PART II
ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND AND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
As from 1st May 1963 after consultation with the Inaugural Committee, there shall be established and maintained a Fund, to be known as the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund, which shall be vested in the Committee and of which the Committee shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have the sole management and control.
(1) There shall be established a Board to be known as the Board of the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund, which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name, and with power to acquire, hold, charge and alienate property, real or personal, and, subject to the provisions of this Act, with power to do all such acts or things as are necessary for or incidental to the performance of the duties and the exercise of the powers imposed or conferred by or under the provisions of this Act.
(2) Until the Management Committee has been constituted in accordance with rules made under the provisions of section 41, the Inaugural Committee may exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred or imposed upon the Committee by this Act, but, as soon as the Management Committee has been so constituted, the Minister shall thereupon publish a statutory notice dissolving the Inaugural Committee.
[S 5 am by Act 17 of 1989.]
PART III
FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT
All property, real or personal, and all the rights and liabilities of the existing fund, and all property, real or personal, held by any person on behalf of the existing fund, shall, on the appointed day, vest in the Committee without any conveyance or other instrument or the authority of any court.
The Fund shall consist of—
(a) the assets vested in the Committee under the provisions of section 6;
(b) contributions and interest paid into the Fund in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
(c) income and capital appreciation derived from the holding of the assets of the Fund in any form;
(d) any other sums or assets accruing to the Fund.
There shall be charged on and discharged from the Fund—
(a) the payment of benefits in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
(b) the whole of the expenses incurred in connection with or incidental to the management and administration of the Fund, including the cost of staff and the audit and actuarial investigations of the Fund;
(c) any losses incurred on the realisation, or decrease in the value, of any assets of the Fund;
(d) any other payments authorised to be made out of the Fund under the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder.
9. Appointment of actuary and officers
(1) The Board shall appoint an actuary who shall carry out the duties and exercise the powers imposed or conferred upon him by the provisions of this Act.
(2) The Committee shall appoint a person to be Chief Executive and may appoint such other officers as may be required for the efficient administration of the Fund.
[S 9 am by Act 17 of 1989.]
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