Report No. 53
13. Position as to superannuation in England.-
As regards claims based on superannuation, it appears that in England, a suit by a civil servant for claims based on superannuation is not maintainable.1 The civil servant in England enjoys no legal right to superannuation.2 In numerous decisions, this has been held3 to be the correct interpretation of section 30 of the Superannuation Act4 of 1934, taken together with section 2 of the Superannuation Act5-6 of 1859.
1 Nixon v. A.G., 1931 AC 184 (HL).
2 In preparing the discussion as to the position as to superannuation in England, assistance has been taken from Leo Blair The Civil Servant, (1958) Public Law 32, 40.
3 E.g., (a) Edmunds v. Att.-Gen., (1878) 47 LJ Ch;
(b) Cooper v. R., (1880) 14 Ch D 311;
(c) Yorke v. R., (1915) 1 KB 852;
(d) Transferred Civil Servants, (Ireland) Compensation (in re:), 1929 AC 242;
(e) Nixon v. Att.-Gen, 1931 AC 184.
4 " nothing in this Act shall extend or be construed to extend to give any person an absolute right to compensation for past services, or to any superannuation or retiring allowance under this Act, or to deprive the Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, and the heads or principal officers of the respective departments of their power to dismiss any person from the public service without compensation". (Section 30, Superannuation Act, 1834).
5 "The decision of the Treasury on any question which arises as to the application of any section of this Act,... shall be final."
6 See also (a) section 9, Superannuation Act, 1887, and (b) section 4, Superannuation Act, 1909.
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