Taxpayers are paying for the pensions of nearly one in three councillors - despite their council roles being voluntary.
Seventeen of the 59 Central Bedfordshire councillors choose to claim pension contributions, although none do so at neighbouring Luton Borough Council.
However, council tax payers in Luton are paying a higher amount - £86.54 each - towards staff pensions, at a total of £17.2 million a year.
In Central Beds the cost per head, for councillors and staff, is £64.70, which raises £16.5m. The figures came to light through an investigation by watchdog the TaxPayers’ Alliance, whose report said: ‘These duties are meant to be separate from their private and professional lives outside the council and their position is voluntary.
‘Any payments they receive are not intended to represent earnings but instead to compensate them for incidental expenses incurred in fulfilling their duties in local government such as the use of their phones, transportation and office expenses.’
A Luton Council spokesman said: “Uniquely among the Bedfordshire authorities, we have not offered councillors the opportunity to enter the pension scheme.
“The independent panel on members’ allowances recommended that they should not be able to do so, and this was agreed by the council.”
Central Beds leader Cllr James Jamieson, who is part of the pension scheme, said: “The independent remuneration panel investigated the time, effort, and responsibilities councillors put in and they came to a view and we went along with it. We put in a huge amount of effort and that deserves to be recognised.”
