Scotland’s local authorities will have to find an extra £190m ($304m) in coming years because of over use of early retirement, according to a report by the Accounts Commission, which audits spending by Scotland’s public bodies.

It says that the recent re-organisation of local government saw councils using early retirement to avoid compulsory redundancies. It also highlights the fact that the number of employees retiring due to ill-health was double the number retiring normally.

Early retirement costs £32,000 more than normal retirement, but councils took only half this amount into account with pension funds bearing the remainder.