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Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Type Ni-Statutory-Rule

Publication 2000-05-19

Last updated 2019-11-18

State In force

Jurisdiction Northern Ireland

Department Government Printer for Northern Ireland

Source legislation.gov.uk

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Reform history JSON API

The Department of the Environment in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 9 and 14 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Superannuation (Northern Ireland) Order 1972[^f00001] and now vested in it[^f00002], being a Department designated for the purposes of Articles 164(3) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995[^f00003], in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 164 of that Order and of every other power enabling it in that behalf and after consultation with the Association of Local Authorities of Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee and such representatives of other persons likely to be affected by the regulations as appeared to it to be appropriate, hereby makes the following regulations:

Part A — Preliminary

Citation, commencement and retrospection

A1

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and shall come into operation on 1st August 2000 (“the commencement date”) and except as provided in paragraphs (2) to (10) shall have effect from that date.

(2) Part F, except for regulations F7 and F8, regulations G8(3) and G9 shall have effect as from 6th April 1988.

(3) Regulation B2(1) shall have effect as from 1st October 1989.

(4) Regulation B9(2) shall have effect as from 1st April 1990.

(5) Regulation D16(5) shall have effect as from 17th May 1990.

(6) Paragraphs 1(1)(c) and (d) of Schedule D3 shall have effect as from 1st November 1991.

(7) Regulation C6 shall have effect as from 1st January 1993.

(8) Paragraphs 15 and 16 of Schedule C3 shall have effect as from 1st April 1993.

(9) Regulations C12, D7, D9, D11(2)(e), D16(3), E1, H1(2)(h) and H6 shall have effect as from 2nd May 1995.

(10) Regulation K17 shall have effect as from 9th April 1997.

Interpretation

A2

(1) In these regulations the expressions defined in Schedule A1 (general definitions) and Schedule A2 (interpretation for pension sharing on divorce) have the meanings given to them by those Schedules.

(2) In these regulations, any reference to a Part of these regulations includes a reference to any Schedules to these regulations referred to in that Part, in so far as they apply for its purposes.

(3) So far as is necessary for the purpose of regulation A1(2) to (10) the regulations shall be deemed to have effect from and including 6th April 1988.

Part B — Membership

Eligibility

General eligibility of employees of LGPS employers

B1

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, a person is only eligible to be a member of the occupational pension scheme constituted by these regulations (in these regulations referred to as “the Scheme”) if he is an employee of a LGPS employer.

(2) In these regulations—

(a) “employee” means an employee whether permanent or temporary; and

(b) “a LGPS employer” is a local authority as defined in Article 2 of the Order of 1972[^f00004].

Age restrictions: meaning of “latest retirement age” and “LRD”

B2

(1) A person is only eligible to be a member of the Scheme if he has attained the age of 16 years.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), a person is not eligible to be a member of the Scheme after he has attained the age of 65 and in these regulations, in relation to any person, “latest retirement age” (“LRA”) means that age and “latest retirement date” (“LRD”) means the date by which he attains that age.

(5) A person is only eligible to be a member of the Scheme on and after his LRD if—

(a) his total period of membership does not exceed the maximum referred to in paragraph (7); and

(b) at least one of the conditions mentioned in paragraph (6) is satisfied in relation to him.

(6) The conditions mentioned in paragraph (5) are—

(a) at least one of the following has become payable to him—

(i) a pension which is liable to be reduced or suspended under Schedule D5 (re-employed pensioners),

(ii) an ill-health retirement grant under regulation D8, or under regulation E4 of the 1992 regulations, or under regulation 28A[^f00005] of the 1981 regulations,

(b) he has received or is entitled to receive compensation under any enactment for loss of employment or loss or diminution of emoluments attributable to the provisions of an enactment, and the compensation is liable to be reduced or suspended, in consequence of his taking up employment with a LGPS employer, in the like manner and to the like extent as it would have been if he had remained eligible to belong to the occupational pension scheme to which he belonged or was eligible to belong immediately before suffering the loss.

(7) The maximum referred to in paragraph (5)(a) is—

(a) in the case of a Class A member (as defined in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule C4) 40 years, and

(b) in the case of a Class B member or a Class C member (as so defined), the aggregate of—

(i) his total period of membership before he attained the age of 60 years (disregarding any period in excess of 40 years), and

(ii) his total period of membership since he attained that age (but not exceeding 5 years plus any period by which the period mentioned in paragraph (i) fell short of 40 years);

and in paragraph (5) and this paragraph “total period of membership” has the meaning given in regulation B13, except that it also includes any additional period of membership which the member has been treated as being entitled to count for the purposes of regulation D7 (enhancement in cases of retirement on grounds of ill-health) or any corresponding earlier provision.

Restrictions by reference to working hours: “part-time” and “variable-time” employees

B3

(1) If an employee is in two or more employments under a single LGPS employer, he is eligible to be a member of the Scheme in respect of all (but not less than all) of the employments.

(2) A person who is a variable-time employee of a LGPS employer is only eligible to be a member of the Scheme in respect of that employment if—

(a) he is a member of the Scheme also in respect of whole-time or part-time employment with a LGPS employer who is so specified; or

(b) having been such a member at the same time as being a member in respect of his variable-time employment, he has ceased to hold the whole-time or part-time employment; or

(c) he is not also in the whole-time or part-time employment of a LGPS employer and his employer has by a statutory resolution—

(i) specified him as being so eligible, or

(ii) specified a class of employees to which he belongs as being so eligible.

(3) For the purposes of these regulations—

(a) an employee is a variable-time employee if in accordance with his terms of office or contract of employment he is to be treated as such for the purposes of the Scheme and either—

(i) his remuneration is calculated by reference to his obligations in his employment (rather than necessarily by reference to the number of hours he has worked), or

(ii) he holds an office or employment the functions of which are only exercisable on an occasional basis;

(b) an employee is a whole-time employee if his contractual hours are not less than the number of hours which, in accordance with his terms of employment, is the number of contractual hours for a person employed in that employment on a whole-time basis; and

(4) In these regulations—

“the contractual hours” means—the number of hours the employing authority is entitled to require the employee to work in each of the contractual weeks, orif there is any cyclical variation in those hours, the average of those hours over the cycle; orif there is any variation in those hours which is not cyclical, the average of those hours over the weeks in such period (not exceeding 12 months) as the employing authority considers appropriate, being a period for which, assuming that there will be no unpaid leave of absence, a wage or salary is payable to the employee; and

“the contractual weeks” means the number of weeks in every period of 12 months for which (on that assumption) a wage or salary is payable to the employee.

Certain office-holders etc. to be treated as employees of LGPS employers

B4

In these regulations, references to employees of a LGPS employer shall be construed as including references to persons who are deemed for the purposes of these regulations to be in the employment of a LGPS employer and other provisions relating to employment by or under a LGPS employer shall be construed accordingly.

Separate employments etc.

B5

(1) Where a person holds two or more separate employments under one LGPS employer then these regulations apply in relation to each of those employments as if the other or others were held by him under another LGPS employer.

(2) For the purposes of these regulations, a clerk of a district council who performs functions under Article 9(2) (conduct of elections) of the Electoral Law (Northern Ireland) Order 1972[^f00006] shall, in relation to those functions, be treated as if he were employed by that council and any fees paid to him in connection with those functions shall be treated as remuneration paid to him by that council.

Power to extend eligibility to employees of other bodies (“admission agreements”)

B6

(1) The Committee may make an admission agreement with any admission body.

(2) An admission agreement is an agreement that all or any specified class of the admission body’s employees may be members.

(3) These are admission bodies—

(a) a body which provides a public service in the United Kingdom otherwise than for the purposes of gain and which either—

(i) has sufficient links with a LGPS employer for the body and the LGPS employer to be regarded as having a community of interest, whether because the operations of the admission body are dependent on the operations of the LGPS employer or otherwise, or

(ii) is approved by the Department for the purpose of admission to the Scheme;

(b) a body to the funds of which any LGPS employer contributes;

(c) a body to which any monies are payable from monies appropriated by or under an enactment as defined in section 98(1) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998;

(d) a body representative—

(i) of local authorities, or

(ii) of local authorities and officers of local authorities, or

(iii) of officers of local authorities, or

(iv) of LGPS employers;

(e) statutory undertakers;

(f) non-statutory undertakers;

(g) the managers of a voluntary school or grant maintained integrated school within the meaning of Article 2(2) of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;

(h) the governing body of an institution of further education within the meaning of the Further Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1997; and

(i) a body which provides services or assets referred to in a transfer arrangement.

(4) An admission body referred to in paragraph (3)(d)(iii) is only an admission body if it is formed for the purpose of consultation as to the common interests of local authorities and the discussion of matters relating to local government.

(5) Approval under paragraph (3)(a)(ii) may be subject to such conditions as the Department thinks fit and it may withdraw approval at any time if such conditions are not met.

(6) It must be a term of an admission agreement made with a non-associated admission body within paragraphs (3)(b) and (c) that the body which provides the funding or from which monies are appropriated (and, if more than one, all of them) guarantees the liability of the admission body to pay all amounts due from it under the Regulations.

(7) In the case of an admission agreement with a transferee admission body—

(a) the transferor LGPS employer, if not the Committee, must be a party to the admission agreement;

(b) only those employees of the transferee admission body who are employed in connection with the provision of the services or assets referred to in the transfer arrangement are eligible to be members of the Scheme;

(c) the admission agreement shall require an indemnity or bond in an approved form and with an authorised insurer or a relevant institution; and

(d) provision shall be made for the matters set out in Schedule A3.

(8) Where a transferor LGPS employer and a transferee admission body undertake to meet the requirements of paragraph (7), the Committee must admit to the Scheme the eligible employees of the transferee admission body and, where it does so, the terms on which it does so are the admission agreement for the purposes of these Regulations.

(9) An admission agreement must terminate if the admission body ceases to be such a body.

(10) An admission agreement may make such other provision about its termination as the parties to the agreement consider appropriate.

(11) When the Committee makes an admission agreement, it must promptly inform the Department of the date the agreement takes effect, the admission body’s name and, in the case of an admission agreement with a transferee admission body, the name of the relevant transferor LGPS employer.

(12) The Committee must notify the Commissioners of Inland Revenue of the admission of an admission body within the time prescribed in regulations made under section 605 of the Taxes Act and provide such information as may be so prescribed.

(13) Any question which may arise between the Committee and any other party to an admission agreement relating to the construction of the agreement or to the rights and obligations under that agreement shall be referred in writing for determination to the Department.

(14) An employee of an admission body may not be a member if he is a member of another occupational pension scheme (within the meaning of section 1 of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993) other than where the accrual of benefits under that pension scheme would not affect approval of the Scheme as an approved scheme.

(15) These Regulations apply to employment with an admission body in which the employee is a member in the same way as if the body were a LGPS employer.

(16) In this regulation and in Schedule A3 (where applicable)—

(a) “authorised insurer” means—

(i) an insurance company authorised under section 3 or 4 of the Insurance Companies Act 1982 to carry on general business, or

(ii) an EC company which is lawfully carrying on general business, or providing insurance of an appropriate class within general business, in the United Kingdom,

and expressions used in this definition and the Insurance Companies Act 1982 have the same meaning as in that Act;

(b) “indemnity or bond in an approved form” means an indemnity or bond to meet a level of risk exposure arising on premature termination of the transfer arrangement actuarially assessed to the satisfaction of the Committee and the transferor LGPS employer if not the Committee;

(i) paragraph (3)(a)(ii),

(ii) paragraph (3)(b) where, at the date that the admission agreement is made, the contributions paid to a body by any one or more LGPS employers equal in total 50% or less of the total amount it receives from all sources, or

(iii) paragraph 3(c);

(d) “non-statutory undertakers” means a body who, though not authorised by any statutory provision to do so, is primarily engaged in carrying on—

(i) any railway, light railway, road transport, water transport, canal, inland navigation, dock, harbour, pier; or

(ii) any undertaking for the promotion of industrial development or the promotion of the development of tourist traffic;

(e) “relevant institution” means—

(i) an institution authorised under Part I of the Banking Act 1987 (regulation of deposit-taking business),

(ii) a person to whom the restriction on acceptance of deposits in section 3 of that Act does not apply because he is specified in Schedule 2 to that Act (Central banks etc.), or

(iii) a European authorised institution which has lawfully established a branch in the United Kingdom for the purpose of accepting deposits,

and “European authorised institution” has the same meaning as in the Banking Co-ordination (Second Council Directive) Regulations 1992;

(f) “statutory undertakers” means a body authorised by any statutory provision to carry on—

(i) any railway, light railway, road transport, water transport, canal, inland navigation, dock, harbour, pier; or

(ii) any undertaking for the promotion of industrial development or the promotion of the development of tourist traffic;

(g) “transferee admission body” means an admission body described in paragraph (3)(i);

(h) “transfer arrangement” means a contract or other arrangement made with a transferor LGPS employer for the provision of, or making available of, services or assets, for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of a function of that transferor LGPS employer; and

(i) “transferor LGPS employer” means an authority or body which is a LGPS employer.

Ineligibility of employees eligible to join other statutory schemes

B7

(1) A person is not eligible to be a member of the Scheme by virtue of any employment which also entitles him to belong to another occupational pension scheme provided by or under an enactment.

(2) The reference in paragraph (1) to an enactment—

(a) includes an enactment in a local Act, but

(b) excludes Article 9 of the Order of 1972.

Other cases of ineligibility

B8

(1) Notwithstanding anything in regulations B1 to B3, the following persons are not eligible to be members of the Scheme—

(a) an existing officer, unless he exercised the option conferred by regulation 23 of the 1950 regulations or the corresponding provision of the Belfast Corporation Superannuation Scheme;

(b) any member of the fire brigade as defined in Article 2(2) of the Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984[^f00009];

(c) any officer in the employment of the Fire Authority of Northern Ireland who was employed by the Northern Ireland Fire Authority immediately before 1 May 1954, and who did not exercise the option available to him under the relevant proviso to regulation 3(1) of the 1950 regulations to avail himself of the benefits of those regulations;

(d) any person in contributory service within the meaning of the Teachers (Superannuation) Act (Northern Ireland) 1950[^f00010]; and

(e) any person who as a member of staff of the University of Ulster is eligible to participate in the Universities' Superannuation Scheme.

(2) A person is not eligible to be a member of the Scheme in respect of his part-time employment as a member of a fire brigade maintained in pursuance of the Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 on terms under which he is or may be required to engage in fire fighting.

(3) A person who is a member and is an employee of a transferee admission body is treated as leaving a local government employment when he ceases to be employed in connection with the services or assets referred to in the transfer arrangement.

Joining and leaving the Scheme

Applications for membership

B9

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, a person who wishes to become a member of the Scheme shall apply to do so by notice given in writing to his employer or future employer.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), an employee is deemed to have made an application to become a member, unless—

(a) before commencing his employment, or

(b) in the case of a person to whom this paragraph began to apply after he commenced his employment, before the date on which it began to apply to him,

he notified his employer in writing that he did not wish to become a member of the Scheme.

(3) Paragraph (2) does not apply—

(a) to a person whose employment is of a casual nature,

(b) to a person who has previously been a member of the Scheme but has ceased to be a member after giving notification under regulation B11, or

(4) Where a person who has ceased to be employed in an employment in which he was a member at the time of cessation commences a new employment in which he is eligible for membership, he is deemed to have made an application to become a member unless, before commencing his new employment, he notified his employer in writing that he did not wish to be a member of the Scheme.

(5) An application for membership may be withdrawn at any time before the applicant becomes a member.

Admission to the Scheme

B10

(1) A person who has or is deemed to have applied under regulation B9 and is eligible to be a member of the Scheme shall become a member of it on the appropriate day.

(2) In this regulation, “the appropriate day” means—

(a) in the case of a person who has applied under regulation B9(1) at least one month before the date on which he commences his employment (or such lesser period before that date as his employer allows), the date on which he commences his employment or such later date as he has specified in his application;

(b) in any other case where an application is made under that regulation, the first day of the first payment period following the application;

(i) if he is a person to whom that paragraph applied on the date when he commenced his employment, that date, and

(ii) otherwise, on the date on which it began to apply to him.

(3) In paragraph (2)(b), “payment period” means a period of service to which the employee’s payment of wages or salary relates.

Leaving the Scheme

B11

(1) Subject to regulation B2(2) and (4), a person shall cease to be a member of the Scheme if—

(a) he wishes to do so, or

(b) he ceases to be eligible for membership.

(2) A person who wishes to cease to be a member of the Scheme shall so notify his employer in writing.

(3) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), a person giving a notification under paragraph (2) shall cease to be a member of the Scheme—

(a) in a case where a date of cessation (being a date not earlier than the date of the notification) is specified in the notification, from that date, and

(b) otherwise, from the first day of the first, or if the LGPS employer so determines, the second payment period following the notification.

(4) In paragraph (3)(b), “payment period” means a period of service to which the employee’s payment of wages or salary relates.

(5) Where a person gives a notification under paragraph (2) within three months after first becoming a member of the Scheme, he shall be treated as never having been a member.

(6) Where—

(a) a person to whom regulation C8 (absence on reserve forces service) applies has given notification under paragraph (2) before ceasing his former employment or beginning his leave of absence in order to perform his relevant service (within the meaning of that regulation), and

(b) he is still a member immediately before he commences his relevant service,

then, subject to paragraph (7), the notification shall be of no effect.

(7) A person may elect that paragraph (6) is not to apply, by notice given in writing to the Committee before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the end of his relevant service (or within such longer period as it may allow), and it shall take all practicable steps to ensure that a person entitled to make such an election is notified of his entitlement.

(8) Any contributions paid by a person with respect to a period during which, by virtue of a notification under paragraph (2), he is not a member of the Scheme shall be returned to him.

Rejoining the Scheme

B12

(1) Subject to paragraph (3), a person who has once given a notification under regulation B11 may subsequently apply to become a member of the Scheme again.

(2) An application under paragraph (1) shall be made by notice in writing given to the applicant’s employer or future employer.

(3) A person who has made an application under paragraph (1) and subsequently gives another notification under regulation B11(2) may only make a further application under paragraph (1) if his employer or future employer consents or—

(a) he is beginning a new employment with a new employing authority by virtue of which he is eligible to be a member of the Scheme, and

(b) he applies before or within the period of three months beginning with the day on which he begins that employment, or

(4) Regulation B10 shall apply to an application under paragraph (1) as it applies to an application under regulation B9(1).

Membership periods

Periods of membership: “total period of membership”

B13

(1) For the purposes of these regulations, in relation to any member the following periods count as periods of membership, in relation to an employment in which he is a member—

(a) any period for which he has paid (or is treated as having paid) contributions under regulation C3,C5 or C6, (but subject to the provisions of regulation C7(5) and (6));

(b) any period during which he is absent from duty by reason of illness or injury (whether or not he has paid such contributions for it);

(d) any period which he is entitled to count as such by virtue of regulation ... B15, or C9;

(e) any period which he is entitled to count as such by virtue of regulation K15(1)(a);

(f) any other period which he is entitled to count as such under paragraph 7 of Schedule M2 and, in particular—

(i) any period he became entitled to count as reckonable service by virtue of regulations 39, 40, 48 and 101 of the 1981 regulations, or regulations D4 to D7, D9 or D13 or Part F of the 1992 regulations,

(ii) any period of added years,

(iii) any period which by virtue of the interchange rules became reckonable under the former regulations,

(g) any other period which he is entitled to count as such under Schedule C5.

(2) For the purposes of these regulations, a member’s “total period of membership” is the aggregate of the periods he is entitled to count under paragraph (1) (disregarding any period which he is entitled to count under more than one of paragraphs (a) to (g)), but subject—

(a) to Part I of Schedule B1 (which provides for the exclusion of certain periods of membership for certain purposes);

(b) to Part II of that Schedule (which provides for the inclusion for certain purposes in the total period of membership of certain periods, which are not periods of membership in relation to the employment in which a person is a member, as respects certain benefits in respect of that employment); and

(3) Periods of membership before and after any unpaid period of maternity absence or period of parental leave in respect of which the member does not pay any contributions shall be treated as continuous.

Length of period of membership: calculation of benefit

B14

(1) For the purpose of calculating the amount of any benefit under these regulations—

(a) a period of membership in excess of a number of complete years shall be counted as the appropriate fraction of a year (and accordingly references to the length in years of membership shall be taken as references to the number of complete years and any fraction of a year in the period of membership); and

(b) subject to paragraph (3), a period of membership in part-time service in local government employment shall be treated as though it had been a proportionately reduced period of membership in whole-time local government employment.

(2) In paragraph (1)—

“the appropriate fraction” means the fraction of which—the numerator is the number of complete days comprised in the excess; andthe denominator is 365; and

“proportionately reduced” means reduced in the proportion which the number of contractual hours during the period of part-time service in the employment, bears to the number of contractual hours of that employment if it were on a whole-time basis.

(3) Paragraph (1)(b) does not apply in determining a member’s total period of membership for the purposes of regulation D7(2) (qualification for enhancement of pension in cases of ill-health) and is subject to paragraph 4 of Schedule D3 (additional membership in such cases).

Special power of employing authority to increase period of membership

B15

(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), if the body employing an employee who is eligible to be a member of the Scheme (in these regulations referred to as “the employing authority”) is satisfied that, having regard to the interests of the efficient exercise of its functions, there are exceptional reasons for doing so, it may resolve to add an additional period of membership to a member’s period of membership.

(2) A resolution under paragraph (1)—

(a) may only be passed before or within 6 months after the person becomes a member in the authority’s employment, and

(b) may not be passed after he has attained the age of 59 years, unless he did so after becoming such a member.

(3) The additional period is to be specified in the resolution and is not to exceed the maximum period which would be applicable under regulation C10(1) (taking the references in regulation C10(6)(a) and (b) to the date of the election as references to the date of the resolution and, in the case of a person who at the date of the resolution had not become a member in the employment of the authority, treating him as if he had on that date become such a member on the scale of remuneration at which the employment was offered to him).

(4) Where the employing authority has passed a resolution under paragraph (1) and the member—

(a) remains in his employment under that authority until his NRD (within the meaning of regulation C2(1)),

(b) on ceasing to hold that employment before his NRD is incapable of discharging efficiently the duties of the employment by reason of ill-health or infirmity of mind or body, or

the additional period specified in the resolution may be counted as a period of membership.

(5) In any other case where the employing authority has passed such a resolution the member is entitled to count as a period of membership the appropriate proportion of the additional period of membership specified in the resolution.

(6) In paragraph (5) “the appropriate proportion” means the proportion which the period during which the member has been in the employment of the employing authority bears to the period during which the member would have been in that employment if he had remained in it until his NRD (within the meaning of regulation C2(1)).

Part C — Members' Contributions

Preliminary definitions

Meaning of “remuneration”

C1

(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) and Schedule C4 (limitations on contributions and benefits), in these regulations “remuneration”, in relation to an employee, means the total of all the salary, wages, fees and other payments paid to him for his own use in respect of his employment, and any other payment or benefit specified in his contract of employment as being a pensionable emolument.

(2) “Remuneration” does not include—

(a) payments for non-contractual overtime;

(b) any travelling or subsistence allowance or any other allowance paid to an employee in respect of expenses incurred in relation to the employment;

(d) any payment accepted by an employee in lieu of notice to terminate his contract of employment; or

(e) the money value to the employee of the provision of a motor vehicle or any payment accepted by him in lieu of such provision.

(3) Schedule C1 shall have effect for the purpose of making further provision as to the meaning of “remuneration” (including provision for the amount of notional remuneration to be agreed collectively).

Meaning of “normal retirement age” and “NRD”

C2

(1) In these regulations, in relation to any member, “normal retirement date” (“NRD”) means—

(a) in the case of a member who by his 60th birthday has a total period of membership of at least 25 years, that birthday;

(b) in the case of a member who first has such a total period of membership by a date after his 60th birthday but before his 65th birthday, the day after that date;

(c) in the case of a member who by his 60th birthday has a total period of membership of at least 10 years, provided that he was a contributory employee before 1st April 1972, that birthday; or

(d) in the case of a member who does not fall within paragraphs (a), (b) or (c), his 65th birthday;

and “normal retirement age” means his age on his NRD.

(2) Where for any purpose of the regulations it is necessary to determine a person’s NRD or normal retirement age before he attains that age, it shall be assumed that his local government employment and membership of the Scheme will be continuous.

Standard contributions

Member’s standard contributions

C3

Subject to regulations C5 to C7 and C26, a member shall, at such intervals as the Committee may determine, make contributions in respect of every employment in relation to which he is a member—in the case of a manual worker, at the rate of five per cent. of his remuneration in the employment, andin the case of an officer, at the rate of six per cent. of that remuneration.

Contributions payable for previous part-time employment

C4

(1) This regulation applies to—

(a) a person employed on contractual hours of less than 15 hours per week or contractual weeks of under 35 weeks per year who becomes a member on the commencement date; and

(b) an existing member of the Scheme at the commencement date who before joining the Scheme worked for a LGPS employer for less than 15 hours per week.

(2) A person to whom paragraph (1) applies may elect by notice in writing to the Committee within six months of the commencement date (or such longer period as the Committee may allow) that his period of membership shall if he makes the appropriate payment to the fund have effect from a date, as specified in the notice, earlier than the commencement date but not earlier than 1st January 1993.

(3) The “appropriate payment” for the purposes of paragraph (2) is a payment equal to the contributions which the person would have been required to make under regulation C3 if he had throughout the period from the date specified in the notice to the earlier of the date immediately before the commencement date, or the date immediately before his membership commenced, been a pensionable employee.

(4) The payment under paragraph (2) is to be made, unless the Committee allows a longer period, within six months of the date on which the person is notified by the Committee of its amount.

(5) A member who becomes a member on the commencement date who has made a payment under paragraph (2) is entitled to count as a period of membership the period for which the payment was made.

(6) The employer or former employer will pay employer’s contributions at rates commensurate with the members' contributions for the appropriate period.

Effect of absences on contributions

Leave of absence from duty

C5

(1) A member who is on leave of absence from duty in an employment with reduced or no remuneration (otherwise than by reason of illness or injury) shall not make any contribution under regulation C3 in respect of the employment for the period of his absence.

(2) Unless regulation C6 (maternity leave) applies to a member who is so absent, the member shall—

(a) for a period of 30 days beginning on the first day of the leave of absence, or

(b) if the period of absence is shorter, for the period of it,

make contributions of amounts equal to the contributions he would have been required to make under regulation C3 on the remuneration he would have received during that period but for the leave of absence.

(3) If the member gives notice in writing for the purpose to the employing authority not later than 30 days after—

(a) the day on which he returns to duty, or

(b) the day on which he ceases to be employed by that authority,

whichever is the earlier, he shall make such contributions as are mentioned in paragraph (2) for the period of his absence up to a maximum of 36 months, or the period of his absence, if shorter.

(4) Where the leave of absence was given to enable the employee to attend—

(a) for jury service in pursuance of a summons under the Juries (Northern Ireland) Order 1996[^f00011], or

(b) as a juror at an inquest under the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959[^f00012],

and such attendance continues after the expiration of the period of 30 days mentioned in paragraph (2), the employee shall be deemed to have given such a notice as is mentioned in paragraph (3).

(5) This regulation does not apply where the leave of absence is given to enable the employee to perform relevant service (within the meaning of regulation C8 (absence on reserve forces service)).

Maternity absence

C6

(1) If a person who is a member or has applied to be a member goes on maternity leave, she must make contributions at the standard contribution rate, as respects any part of her period of maternity absence for which she is a member and entitled to receive pay (including any statutory maternity pay payable to her under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992), on that pay.

(2) That pay includes any such statutory pay but not any amount by which her actual pay is reduced on account of her possible entitlement to such statutory pay.

(3) If a person who is a member or has applied to be a member–

(a) goes on ordinary maternity leave; and

(b) is not entitled to receive pay (including statutory maternity pay payable to her under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act (Northern Ireland) 1992) for all or any part of that period of leave,

for these Regulations she shall be treated as if she had paid contributions under paragraph (1) for the unpaid period of that ordinary maternity leave and on the pay that she would have received during that period but for her absence.

(4) If–

(a) a person who is a member or has applied to be a member is on maternity leave, other than ordinary maternity leave; and

(b) for the whole or part of the period of her maternity absence (“the unpaid period”) she is not entitled to receive pay (including any statutory maternity pay payable to her under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992) but is a member,

she may elect to make contributions at the standard contribution rate as respects the unpaid period, as if her pay in the employment were equal to the pay she was entitled to receive immediately before the unpaid period begun (including any such statutory pay, but not any amount by which her actual pay is reduced on account of her possible entitlement to such statutory pay).

(5) An election under paragraph (4) shall be made by notice in writing to the employing authority given before the expiry date of the period of 30 days beginning with the earlier of–

(a) the day on which the member returns to duty; and

(b) the day on which she ceases to be employed by that employing authority.

Absence owing to trade dispute

C7

(1) This regulation applies to a person who—

(a) has been absent from duty, otherwise than on leave of absence, for a period of one or more days during and in consequence of a trade dispute, and

(b) was a member immediately before—

(i) that period, or

(ii) where two or more periods of absence occurred in consequence of a single trade dispute, the first of those periods;

and in this regulation a period for which a person to whom this regulation applies was so absent is referred to as a “relevant absence”.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4) and regulation C26, if a person to whom this regulation applies gives notice in writing that he wishes this paragraph to apply (or, in a case within paragraph (7), his personal representatives do so), an amount equal to 16 per cent. of the difference between—

(a) the person’s remuneration (if any) for the relevant contribution period, and

(b) the remuneration he would have received for that period if it had not included any relevant absence or part of a relevant absence,

is payable in respect of the relevant contribution period to the authority to whom notice was given; and in this regulation “relevant contribution period” means a period which—

(i) is coextensive with one of the intervals at which a person to whom this regulation applies was required under regulation C3 to make standard contributions, and

(ii) includes all or part of a relevant absence.

(3) An authority shall pay to the fund any sum it receives by way of full or part payment of the amount mentioned in paragraph (2).

(4) Notice under paragraph (2) shall be given in writing to the authority which is or, as the case may be, was last the employing authority in relation to the person to whom the notice relates, before the expiry—

(a) of the period of three months beginning with the day after the last day of the relevant contribution period,

(b) where all or part of more than one relevant contribution period is included in a relevant absence which occurred in consequence of a single trade dispute, of the period of three months beginning with the last day of the last of the relevant contribution periods, in respect of which the notice is given, or

(c) in the case of a notice within paragraph (7), of the period of twelve months beginning with the date of the deceased employee’s death, or

(d) within such longer period as the authority may allow;

and, in any case where the notice relates to more than one relevant contribution period included in a relevant absence which occurred in consequence of a single trade dispute, the notice is of no effect unless it is given in respect of all the relevant contribution periods.

(5) A period of absence from duty without remuneration (otherwise than on leave of absence) does not count as a period of membership unless—

(a) it was a relevant absence, and

(b) the amount specified in paragraph (2) has been paid in respect of every relevant contribution period all or part of which was included in that relevant absence.

(6) Where the amount specified in paragraph (2) has been paid in respect of a relevant contribution period, so much of any relevant absence as was included in that period may count as a period of membership, whether or not a contract of employment continued to subsist during the relevant absence or any part of it.

(7) Where a person to whom this regulation applies dies before the end of the period of three months specified in paragraph (4)(a) without giving notice under paragraph (2), his personal representatives may give that notice.

(8) For the purposes of paragraph (1)—

(a) where—

(i) a person’s contract of employment is terminated in consequence of a trade dispute, and

(ii) not later than the day after the end of the trade dispute, he again becomes an employee of the same LGPS employer and a member,

notwithstanding the termination, he is to be treated as having been absent from duty;

(b) it is immaterial whether or not—

(i) the person was participating in or financing or otherwise directly interested in the trade dispute, or

(ii) the employing authority was a party to the trade dispute.

(9) In this regulation “trade dispute” has the meaning given by Article 2(4) and (7) of the Industrial Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1992[^f00013].

Absence on reserve forces service

C8

(1) Subject to the following provisions, this regulation applies where a person—

(a) ceases to be employed in the employment in which he is a member; or

(b) is granted leave of absence from duty in such an employment,

in order to perform relevant service; and, in relation to such a person, references to his former employment and employer are to that employment and his employer in that employment.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), where this regulation applies—

(a) if the person is entitled under any provision of these regulations to pay additional contributions, make payment by instalments or make any other payment (except by lump sum) to the fund, he shall be treated for the purposes of these regulations as if he has paid them throughout the period of his relevant service;

(b) if (and only if) during any period of the person’s relevant service the total of—

(i) his pay for performing relevant service (including marriage, family and similar allowances), and

(ii) any payments under Part V of the Reserve and Auxiliary Forces (Protection of Civil Interests) (Northern Ireland) Order 1953[^f00014], equals or exceeds the remuneration he would have received if he had continued to be employed in his former employment, he shall pay to the fund all such contributions and payments as would have been payable under these regulations if he had so continued; and

(c) subject to regulation C25, all contributions and payments so made shall be treated for the purposes of these regulations as if made under the provision under which they would have been made if he had so continued.

(3) Paragraph (2) does not apply to contributions payable under regulation C24 (additional voluntary contributions), but if—

(a) before the commencement of his relevant service the person was paying such contributions which were not to be used to provide benefits payable in the event of death, and

(b) he has not elected to discontinue making those contributions,

he may continue to make those contributions during the period of his relevant service.

(4) Where this regulation applies to a person then, subject to paragraph (6)—

(a) the period of relevant service shall be counted as a period of membership in relation to his former employment;

(b) if during that period he dies or attains his normal retirement age, he shall be deemed to have been serving in that employment at that time; and

(c) if during that period he becomes permanently incapable of efficiently discharging the duties of that employment by reason of ill-health, injury or infirmity of mind or body, he shall be deemed to have been so serving at the time when he ceased to perform relevant service.

(5) Where—

(a) a person to whom this regulation would otherwise apply is not a member when he ceases his employment or begins his leave of absence from it, but

(b) before doing so he has duly made an application under regulation B9 or B12 to become a member, then—

(i) that application shall continue to have effect despite his so ceasing or his leave of absence so beginning and this regulation shall apply to him as if he were a member at that time, but

(ii) the period before the date on which his application takes effect shall be excluded from his relevant service.

(6) This regulation does not apply to any person in respect of any period of relevant service—

(a) after the date on which he elects to receive a return of contributions under regulation C21; or

(b) if he elects that it is not to do so by giving notice in writing to the Committee not later than 12 months after the end of the period of relevant service to which the notice relates(or within such longer period as it may allow).

(7) Subject to paragraph (6), in this regulation “relevant service” means service (other than for the purposes of training only)—

(a) in pursuance of any notice or directions given under any enactment which provides for the calling out on permanent service, or the calling into actual service, or the embodiment of, any reserve or auxiliary force, or members of such a force, or the recall of service pensioners;

(b) in pursuance of any obligation or undertaking to serve when called upon as a commissioned officer; or

and paragraph (b) applies whether or not the obligation or undertaking is legally enforceable, but not in the case of an obligation or undertaking—

(i) to accept a permanent commission or a commission for a fixed term, or

(ii) to serve for the purposes of periodical training.

(8) In paragraph (7)—

“reserve or auxiliary force” means the whole or part of the Royal Navy Reserve (including the Royal Fleet Reserve), the Royal Marines Reserve, the Territorial Army, the Army Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve or the Royal Auxiliary Air Force;

“service pensioner” means a person in receipt of a pension (other than a pension awarded in respect of disablement) granted—in respect of service in the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the regular army and the regular air force or any reserve or auxiliary force which has been called out on permanent service or which has been embodied, orin respect of that and other service.

Additional payments to improve benefits

Payments to increase membership: calculation of all benefits

C9

(1) Subject to the following provisions, if a member elects at any time to make additional periodical payments under this regulation, then, in relation to the relevant employment, he may count as a period of membership (but not for the purposes of determining entitlement to any benefit)—

(a) if he completes the additional payments, the period in respect of which payment was made; and

(b) if he begins making the additional payments but does not complete payment, an additional period calculated in accordance with regulation C19.

(2) The additional payments—

(a) are payable from the member’s next birthday after the date of the election at such intervals as the Committee may determine, and

(b) cease to be payable on the day before—

(i) his NRD, or

(ii) if his NRD is not his birthday, the last birthday before his NRD.

(3) An employee may not make an election under paragraph (1) if the Committee has resolved that he should undergo a medical examination at his own expense and he has not done so to its satisfaction.

(4) An election under this regulation shall be made by notice in writing given to the Committee.

Maximum length of additional periods to be purchased under regulation C9

C10

(1) Subject to regulation C26 and C26A, the maximum length of the period in respect of which payment may be made under regulation C9 in respect of a person is the length (expressed in years and fractions of a year) of the period (if any) by which his potential period of membership falls short of the relevant maximum number of years at the appropriate time.

(2) In paragraph (1) “potential period of membership”, in relation to any person, means the period which (apart from the payment) he would be entitled to count as a period of membership in relation to his local government employment if he continued in it until he attained the age of 65.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4) and to Schedule C4 (limitations on contributions and benefits), “the relevant maximum number of years”, in relation to any person, means 40 years.

(4) In the case of a person (other than an excluded member) who at the appropriate time was entitled to, or had received, superannuation benefits in respect of any local government employment or under any non-local government scheme, the relevant maximum number of years specified in paragraph (3) in relation to him is to be reduced, in accordance with the certificate of an actuary, to the extent necessary to ensure that the aggregate of—

(a) the relevant income benefits: and

(b) the pension equivalent of the relevant capital benefits,

will not exceed two-thirds of his pensionable remuneration.

(5) In paragraph (4)—

“excluded member” means a member whose pensionable remuneration in the first year of his employment during which he is a member does not exceed one quarter of the permitted maximum for the purposes of section 590C of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988[^f00016] (earnings cap) for the year of assessment in which that first year ends);

“pension equivalent” has the meaning given in regulation 5(5)(b) of the Retirement Benefits Schemes (Restriction on Discretion to Approve) (Additional Voluntary Contributions) Regulations 1993[^f00017];

“the relevant income benefits”, in relation to a member, means the aggregate annual amount of—the actuarial value, expressed as an annuity payable to him, of the pension benefits mentioned in paragraph (4); andthe part of his retirement pension attributable to his period of membership before his NRD:

“the relevant capital benefits”, in relation to a member, means the aggregate amount of—his retirement grant, andany lump sum comprised in the pension benefits mentioned in paragraph (4).

(6) For the purposes of paragraphs (4) and (5)—

(a) it is to be assumed that the person will, until his NRD, continue in the same local government employment and on the same terms and conditions (including, in particular, his scale of remuneration) as at the date of the election;

(b) any period of membership on or after the date of the election is to be disregarded; and

(c) regard is to be had to any advice from the Commissioners of Inland Revenue as to the calculation of the value of the earlier benefits.

(7) The appropriate time is—

(a) except where paragraph (b) applies, the first day of the earliest period that the person is entitled to count as a period of membership in relation to his local government employment; or

(b) if that period is—

(i) a period of service under an officer of a LGPS employer or former local authority; or

(ii) a period during which the person was subject to a non-local government scheme other than one which was or became a statutory scheme,

the first day of the earliest period of local government employment that the person is entitled to count as a period of membership in relation to his local government employment.

Amounts of payments under regulation C9

C11

(1) The amount to be paid by way of additional periodical payments by a member who has made an election under regulation C9(1) in respect of an additional period is the appropriate percentage of his remuneration for the time being, multiplied by the length of that period.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)—

(a) “the appropriate percentage”, in relation to a member, is the percentage in the relevant Table in Part I of Schedule C2 appropriate to his age on his next birthday after the date of the election and to his normal retirement age; and

(b) the lengths of periods are to be expressed in complete years and any fraction of a year.

Purchase by part-time employees of additional periods under regulation C9

C12

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, where a person makes an election under regulation C9 in relation to a part-time employment to make additional payments in respect of a period—

(a) the period he may count as a period of membership under paragraph (1) of that regulation, is the appropriate fraction of the period he would be entitled to count in respect of that period if he were a whole-time employee (“the notional whole-time period”);

(b) the maximum which applies in his case by virtue of regulation C10, is the appropriate fraction of the maximum which would apply in his case if he were a whole-time employee; and

(c) the amount to be paid by him in accordance with regulation C11 shall be calculated in the same manner as if he were a whole-time employee purchasing the notional whole-time period, but taking his remuneration as his actual remuneration for the time being (and not the remuneration he would have been paid for a single comparable whole-time employment).

(2) In paragraph (1) “appropriate fraction”, in relation to an employee, means the fraction of which the numerator is the number of his contractual hours and the denominator is the number of contractual hours of a single comparable whole-time employment.

(3) Where—

(a) any person has made an election under regulation C9 which has effect in relation to part-time employment; and

(b) that employment ceases to be part-time and becomes whole-time employment;

then—

(i) he may continue to pay contributions under the election in relation to the whole-time employment at the same percentage of his pensionable remuneration as the contributions he paid in relation to the part-time employment; and

(ii) the additional period in respect of the contributions paid in relation to the whole-time employment shall be calculated on the same basis as if he had been in that whole-time employment when he made the election.

(4) Where—

(a) any person has made an election under regulation C9 which has effect in relation to whole-time employment; and

(b) that employment ceases to be whole-time and becomes part-time employment;

then—

(i) he may continue to pay contributions under the election in relation to the part-time employment at the same percentage of his pensionable remuneration as the contributions he paid in relation to the whole-time employment, and

(ii) the additional period in respect of the contributions paid in relation to the part-time employment shall be calculated on the same basis as if he had been in that part-time employment when he made the election.

(5) The previous provisions of this regulation do not apply to an election made by a person under regulation C5 of the 1992 regulations (or having effect as if so made) but, if he so elects by notice in writing to the Committee, then—

(a) payments made by him on and after the date when the election takes effect shall be made by reference to his actual remuneration for the time being; and

(b) the period of membership which he is entitled to count by virtue of them shall be calculated on the same basis as if the previous provisions of this regulation had always applied in respect of his election.

(6) A person may not make an election under paragraph (5) after the beginning of the period of one year ending with his NRD.

Payments to avoid reduction of retirement grant and death grant

C13

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, a member—

(a) whose retirement grant would be subject to reduction under paragraph 1, 2(1) or 3(1) of Schedule D2 (reduction in standard retirement grant on account of contingent spouse’s pension); or

(b) whose death grant would be subject to reduction under regulation E5 (surviving spouse deductions from certain death grants),

may, by notice in writing given to the Committee, elect to make additional periodical payments under this regulation in order to avoid all or part of the reduction—

(i) in his retirement grant; and

(ii) in any death grant that may become payable under Part E.

(2) A notice under paragraph (1) shall specify whether the reduction is to be avoided in respect of the whole or only a specified part—

(a) in the case of a male member, of his membership before 1st April 1972 or before any earlier date on which—

(i) he was judicially separated from his wife: or

(ii) his marriage was dissolved: or

(iii) he became a widower,

(b) in the case of a female member who has given notice under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule F1, of her membership which is or is treated for the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule D2 as being membership before 1st April 1972; and

(c) in the case of a female member who has made such an election as is mentioned in paragraph 2 of Schedule F1, of her membership before 1st April 1972.

(3) An election may not be made in respect of a period of membership of less than one year unless—

(a) the whole of the person’s period of membership in the case of a person described in paragraph (2) before 1st April 1972; or

(b) where he has previously made an election in respect of part of that membership, the remainder of it,

amounts to less than one year.

(4) An election under this regulation may be made by any person from time to time, but not—

(a) if in the particular case the Committee so resolves, without his having, at his own expense, undergone a medical examination to its satisfaction; nor

(b) after making an election under regulation C9(5)(b) of the 1992 regulations (or any corresponding previous provision) to make payment by instalments.

(5) Where—

(a) this regulation applies to a woman by virtue of her having made such an election as is mentioned in paragraph 2 of Schedule F1;

(b) she has made (or is treated as having made) an election under paragraph (1) or regulation C9 of the 1992 regulations (or any corresponding previous provision);

(d) she makes a further election under paragraph (1),

then—

(i) any payments made under this regulation pursuant to the election referred to in sub-paragraph (b) shall be deemed to have been made pursuant to the further election, and

(ii) any additional sums payable by her pursuant to the further election shall be determined accordingly by the fund’s actuary.

Payments to increase widower’s pension by counting membership before 1st April 1972

C14

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, a member who—

(a) is a married woman,

(b) is entitled to count a period of membership before 1st April 1972, and

may, by notice in writing given to the Committee, elect to make additional periodical payments in order to count all or part of her period of membership before 1st April 1972 as membership for the purposes of calculating a widower’s pension in accordance with regulation F7(2)(b)(iii).

(2) A notice under paragraph (1) shall specify whether it relates to the whole or only a specified part of the woman’s period of membership which is membership before 1st April 1972.

(3) A notice under paragraph (1) may not be given in respect of a period of less than one year unless—

(a) the whole of the woman’s period of membership before 1st April 1972, or

(b) where she has previously given a notice in respect of part of that membership, the remainder of it,

amounts to less than one year.

(4) Notice under paragraph (1) may be given by a member on more than one occasion.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), the reference to a woman having been a member continuously includes a reference to a woman who, having ceased to be a member became or becomes a member again—

(a) within one month of so ceasing, or

(b) within one month of returning to work in accordance with Article 111 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996[^f00018] (which confers the right to return to work following pregnancy or confinement).

Amount of payments under regulation C13 and C14

C15

(1) The amount to be paid by a member who has under regulation C13 or C14 elected to make additional periodical payments in respect of a period of membership specified in the notice of election is—

(a) in the case of a male member, the appropriate percentage of his remuneration for the time being, multiplied by the length of that period;

(b) in the case of a female member who made such an election as is mentioned in paragraph 2 of Schedule F1, the appropriate percentage of her remuneration for the time being, multiplied by four times the length of the period of membership before 1st April 1972 specified in her notice of election; and

(c) in the case of a female member who has given notice under paragraph 1 of Schedule F1, the appropriate percentage of her remuneration for the time being, multiplied by three times the length of the period of membership specified in her notice of election which is membership before 1st April 1972.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation “the appropriate percentage” is—

(a) in the case of a male member, the percentage specified in the relevant Table in Part III of Schedule C2 appropriate to his age on his next birthday after the date of the election and, in the case of paragraph (1)(a), to his specified birthday; and

(b) in the case of a female member, the percentage specified in the relevant Table in that Part of that Schedule appropriate to her age on her next birthday after the date of the election and, in the case of the paragraph (1)(b) or (c), to her specified birthday;

and in this paragraph “specified birthday” means the birthday specified in accordance with regulation C16(1).

(3) For the purposes of this regulation the lengths of periods are to be expressed in complete years and any fraction of a year.

(4) References in paragraph (1)(c) to a period of membership before 1st April 1972 include references to a period treated for the purposes of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule D2 as being such a period.

Further provisions as to making of payments under regulations C13 and C14

C16

(1) A member shall specify in a notice of election to make additional periodical payments under regulation C13 or C14 the birthday (“the specified birthday”) up to which additional payments are to be paid, which may be—

(a) his 65th birthday, or

(b) any earlier birthday which is or is after his NRD.

(2) Such additional periodical payments are to be paid, at such intervals as the Committee may determine, from the member’s next birthday after the date of the election.

No elections to make payments after 64

C17

A person may not make an election under regulation C9, C13 or C14 if he has attained the age of 64.

Incomplete payments and return of contributions

Notice to discontinue payments

C18

Payment in accordance with regulation C9(2) or C16(2) may be discontinued if the member notifies the Committee and the employing authority in writing that he wishes it to be discontinued.

Uncompleted periodical payments

C19

(1) This regulation applies where—

(a) a member has made an election under regulation C9(1), C13 or C14 to make additional periodical payments,

(b) he has commenced payment,

(d) in the case of payments under regulation C9(1), any payment made to him under regulation C21 does not include the amount already paid by him under regulation C9(2).

(2) In paragraph (1) “presumed termination date” means—

(a) in the case of an election under regulation C9(1), the member’s NRD, and

(b) in the case of an election under regulation C13 or C14, the birthday specified under regulation C16(1).

(3) For the purposes of this regulation the relevant events are—

(a) the discontinuance of payment under regulation C18, and

(b) where there has been no such discontinuance of payment—

(i) the member’s ceasing to hold his employment, and

(ii) the death of the member while in local government employment.

(4) Where the relevant event is—

(a) the death of the member, or

(b) his ceasing to hold his employment by reason of ill-health or infirmity of mind or body,

he is to be treated as having completed payment in accordance with regulation C9(2) or, as the case may be, C15 and C16.

(5) Where—

(a) the relevant event is the member’s ceasing to hold his employment,

(b) condition (a) or (b) in regulation D6(2) is satisfied,

(d) he gives notice in writing for the purpose to the Committee not later than the expiry of the period of three months beginning on the day after the last day of his employment,

then, if he pays to the fund, within the period of one month beginning on the date on which he is notified by the Committee of the amount calculated by the fund’s actuary to represent the capital value of the additional periodical payments remaining to be paid, a sum equal to that amount, he shall be treated as having completed payment in accordance with regulation C9(2) or, as the case may be, C15 and C16.

(6) The Committee may accept a notice given under paragraph (5)(d) notwithstanding that paragraph (5)(c) is not satisfied.

(7) Subject to paragraph (9), where—

(a) the relevant event is discontinuance of payment under regulation C18, or

(b) the relevant event is the member’s ceasing to hold his employment and neither paragraph (4)(b) nor paragraph (5) applies,

the period of membership in respect of which the election was made is to be treated as having been the appropriate proportion of the period in respect of which it was originally made.

(8) In paragraph (7) “appropriate proportion” means the proportion which the length of the period during which additional payments have been paid bears to the length of the period during which they were to have been paid (each period being expressed in complete years and any fraction of a year).

(9) Where, apart from this paragraph, paragraph (7)(b) would apply and the member, having elected to make additional payments under regulation C9(1), C13 or C14—

(a) has within 12 months after ceasing to hold his employment again entered local government employment, without having—

(i) become entitled in relation to the first employment to the payment of any benefit,

(ii) received any payment under regulation C21 which includes the amount already paid by him under regulation C9, C13 or, as the case may be, C14 or

(iii) made a request for earlier payment under regulation C21(6),

(b) has not made an election for the purposes of regulation D12(1)(c) (retention of right to preserved benefits), and

(c) within three months after his again entering local government employment pays to his new employing authority an amount equal to any additional periodical payments that would have been payable if he had not ceased to hold the first employment,

then, the election under regulation C9(1), C13 or, as the case may be, C14 continues to have effect as if the relevant event had not occurred.

Effect of opting out of membership on certain additional payments

C20

(1) Where a member—

(a) is making additional periodical payments by virtue of having made an election under regulation C9(1), C13 or C14; and

(b) gives notification in accordance with regulation B11 (leaving the Scheme);

then—

(i) no further additional periodical payments shall be payable from the day on which he ceases to be a member; and

(ii) the benefits to which he is entitled in relation to those payments shall be calculated in accordance with regulation C19(7) and (8) as if the payments had been discontinued under regulation C18.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not preclude a person who has elected under regulation B11 making a further election under regulation C9(1), C13 or C14 after again becoming a member.

Return of member’s contributions in certain cases

C21

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Meaning of “aggregate amount of contributions” for purposes of regulation C21

C22

(1) In regulation C21 references to the aggregate amount of a person’s contributions to the fund include references to the contributions and amounts specified in paragraph (2) in so far as they—

(a) have not been returned to the person or, if returned, have subsequently been repaid by him,

(b) are attributable to a period of membership which might have counted under these regulations in relation to the employment he has ceased to hold, and

(c) are not attributable to any earlier period of membership in respect of which a benefit has been paid under Part D, E, F or G of these regulations or the corresponding provisions of the 1992 regulations or the 1981 regulations.

(2) The contributions and amounts mentioned in paragraph (1) are—

(a) any contributions or payments paid by him to the fund—

(i) under regulation C3, C5 or C6, or

(ii) under regulation C1 or C2 of the 1992 regulations, and

(b) any amount paid by him—

(i) by way of additional contributory payments or added period payments, or

(ii) under regulation C7 or C13, or

(iii) under regulation C3, C6, C7 or C8 of the 1992 regulations.

Effect of return to local government on right to a return of contributions

C23

A person’s right to a payment under regulation C21 is extinguished if—

(a) after leaving local government employment with a right to such a payment he returns to such employment without having received the payment; and

(b) he has not given written notice to the Committee—

(i) before the expiry of the period of three months beginning with the date on which he returns to such employment; or

(ii) within such longer period as the Committee may allow,

that he wishes to receive an immediate payment.

AVCs

Additional voluntary contributions

C24

(1) Subject to regulation C26 and C26A, a member may at any time elect to pay contributions under this regulation in addition to those provided for by the previous regulations in this Part.

(2) Schedule C3 shall have effect—

(a) in relation to such an election and in relation to contributions payable under this regulation; and

(b) in relation to receipt of a transfer value in respect of an additional voluntary contributions provision or an additional voluntary contributions scheme (so far as permitted by regulation K14(2)(b)).

(3) In these regulations—

“additional voluntary contributions provision” means a provision of an occupational pension scheme approved by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue under section 591 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988[^f00021] (which provides for the payment by employees of voluntary contributions);

“additional voluntary contributions scheme” means a scheme approved by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue under that section, to which an employer is not a contributor and which provides benefits additional to those provided by an occupational pension scheme.

Deduction and recovery of contributions

Deduction and recovery of member’s contributions

C25

(1) An employing authority may deduct from the remuneration payable by it to a person—

(a) contributions or payments payable by him under regulations C3, C5 and C6,

(b) any amount payable by him under regulation C7,

(d) contributions payable by him under regulation C24.

(2) The former employer of a person—

(a) by whom sums are payable under regulation C8(2) or

(b) in respect of whom any sums are paid under paragraph 6(4) of Schedule C3,

may deduct those sums from any payment the employer makes to that person under Part V of the Reserve and Auxiliary Forces (Protection of Civil Interests)(Northern Ireland) Order 1953[^f00022], so far as those sums are payable in respect of the period in respect of which that payment is made.

(3) If and so far as deductions are not made under paragraph (1) or (2), the Committee may recover any sum remaining due—

(a) as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction (but, in the case of a sum payable under regulation C8 or paid under paragraph 6(4) of Schedule C3, only if it is not paid within 12 months of the person ceasing to perform relevant service as defined in that regulation), or

(b) by deducting it from any payment by way of benefits to or in respect of the person in question under these regulations.

Limitations on payments

Limitation of payments

C26

Schedule C4 has effect for the limitation, in certain circumstances, of payments under this Part and benefits under other Parts of these regulations.

Provisions concerning continuing payments under old legislation

Provisions concerning outstanding payments due under previous regulations

C27

Schedule C5 shall have effect for the purpose of making provision concerning outstanding payments due under previous regulations.

Part D — Retirement Benefits

Preliminary definitions

“Pensionable remuneration”

D1

(1) A person’s pensionable remuneration, in relation to a local government employment, is his remuneration for so much of the relevant period as he is entitled to count as a period of membership in relation to that employment.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation, the relevant period is—

(a) the year ending with the day on which the person ceases to be a member; or

(b) such other period as in accordance with Schedule D1 is to be regarded as the relevant period.

(3) Paragraph (1) has effect subject to the further provisions concerning pensionable remuneration in that Schedule and in Schedule C4 (limitations on contributions and benefits).

“Standard retirement pension” and “standard retirement grant”

D2

(1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4), in relation to any person—

(a) “standard retirement pension” means a pension payable at an annual rate equal to one eightieth of his pensionable remuneration, multiplied by the length in years of his total period of membership; and

(b) “standard retirement grant” means a lump sum of an amount equal to three eightieths of his pensionable remuneration, multiplied by the length in years of his total period of membership.

(2) In the case of a person who—

(a) is entitled under regulation B15 or C9 or paragraph 2(a) or 4 of Schedule C5 to count an additional period as a period of membership, and

(b) had at the appropriate time (within the meaning of regulation C10(7)) attained the age of 45 years,

then—

(i) the standard retirement pension is increased by one two hundred and fortieth of his pensionable remuneration, multiplied by the length in years of that additional period of membership, and

(ii) that additional period of membership is excluded from his total period of membership for the purposes of calculating the standard retirement grant.

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) are subject to regulations D7(2), D13, D16(5), D18(1), paragraph 3 of Schedule B1 and Schedule C4 (limitations on contributions and benefits); and paragraph (1)(b) is subject to the provisions of Schedule D2 which relates to the reduction in retirement grants on account of contingent spouses' pensions.

(4) In the case of a pension debit member the “standard retirement pension” and, if not already paid, the “standard retirement grant” shall be reduced in accordance with guidance issued by the Government Actuary to take into account the debit to which the shareable rights of the pension debit member are subject under a pension sharing order.

D3

For the purposes of these regulations, a person has a “statutory pension entitlement” if—

(a) his total period of membership is not less than two years,

(b) a transfer value from the trustees or managers of a personal pension scheme or self-employed pension arrangement has been and remains credited to the fund in relation to him, or

(i) has attained state pensionable age; or

(ii) will attain state pensionable age before the following 6th April.

References to members leaving employment to include optants-out

D4

In this Part any reference to a member ceasing to hold a local government employment (except the reference in regulation D7) includes a reference to a person who was a member in such an employment but ceased to be so by virtue of a notification under regulation B11(2) (leaving the Scheme) and other references in these regulations shall be construed accordingly.

Entitlement to immediate payment of benefits on retirement

Retirement on or after NRD

D5

Subject to the following provisions of this Part, if a member who ceases to hold a local government employment—

(a) has a statutory pension entitlement, and

(b) has attained normal retirement age,

he is entitled—

(i) to a standard retirement pension, and

(ii) to a standard retirement grant,

which are payable immediately on his ceasing to hold that employment.

Early entitlement to retirement benefits: redundancy etc.

D6

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, if a member who ceases to hold a local government employment—

(a) has a statutory pension entitlement,

(b) has attained the age of 50, and

he is entitled—

(i) to a standard retirement pension, and

(ii) to a standard retirement grant,

which are payable immediately on his ceasing to hold that employment.

(2) The conditions mentioned in paragraph (l)(c) are—

(a) that the employing authority certifies that he has ceased to hold the local government employment—

(i) by reason of redundancy; or

(ii) in the interests of the efficient exercise of its functions; or

(b) that he was one of the holders of a joint appointment and his appointment has been terminated because the other ceased to hold his appointment.

Early entitlement to retirement benefits: ill-health

D7

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, where a member—

(a) ceases to hold a local government employment by reason of being permanently incapable as defined in regulation J1(5) of discharging efficiently the duties of that employment by reason of ill-health or infirmity of mind or body, and

(b) has a statutory pension entitlement,

he is entitled—

(i) to a standard retirement pension, and

(ii) to a standard retirement grant,

which are payable immediately on his ceasing to hold that employment.

(2) Where the member’s total period of membership is at least 5 years, he is to be treated for the purposes of this regulation as being entitled to count as a period of membership an additional period calculated in accordance with Schedule D3.

Ill-health retirement grants

D8

(1) Where a member—

(a) ceases to hold a local government employment by reason of being permanently incapable of discharging efficiently the duties of that employment by reason of ill-health or infirmity of mind or body,

(b) regulation D7 does not apply to him because he does not have a statutory pension entitlement, but

then, subject to paragraph (3), he is entitled to be paid a lump sum (“an ill-health retirement grant”).

(2) The amount of the ill-health retirement grant is the lesser of—

(a) one twelfth of the member’s pensionable remuneration, multiplied by the length in years of his total period of membership, or

(b) three eightieths of his pensionable remuneration, multiplied by the length in years of the total period of membership he would have been entitled to count if—

(i) he had continued as a member of the Scheme until the age of 65, and

(ii) any added period payments had been completed.

(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply if—

(a) the member ceased to hold his employment in consequence of any such offence or misconduct as are mentioned in regulation C21(4), or

(b) apart from this regulation, the member is entitled to any payment out of the fund, other than a return of contributions, or

(c) where the grant to which a member would be entitled under paragraph (1), calculated in accordance with paragraph (2), is no more than the net amount he would receive if a return of contributions were made to him (including an increase under regulation K19 where that regulation applies) he shall instead be entitled to such a return of contributions (so increased where appropriate).

(4) Without prejudice to any subsequent decision under regulation J3 (decisions as to benefits) or regulation 98 of the 2002 Regulations (first instance decisions), the Committee shall notify a person who falls within paragraph (1) (other than one to whom paragraph (3)(a) applies), in writing and as soon as is reasonably practicable, of the amount of the ill-health retirement grant to which he would be entitled if he were and remained a person to whom this regulation applies.

Retirement at or after 60 but before NRD

D9

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, if a member who ceases to hold a local government employment after attaining the age of 60 but before his NRD satisfies the relevant conditions, he is entitled—

(a) to a standard retirement pension (reduced in accordance with regulation D13), and

(b) to a standard retirement grant (so reduced),

which are payable immediately on his ceasing to hold that employment.

(2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a) that the member has a statutory pension entitlement;

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