23.—(1) Where on the death of the deceased officer before he attained state pensionable age an adult survivor became entitled to an adult survivor’s special pension under regulation 12, the Board may, subject to regulation 25, commute for a gratuity that special pension or so much of it as may be commuted without contravening regulation 25:
Provided that the Board shall not exercise its discretion under this paragraph unless—
(a)the adult survivor consents, and
(b)it is satisfied that there are sufficient reasons for so doing.
(2) Where the annual amount of any adult survivor’s special pension does not exceed £260, or any greater amount prescribed by regulations for the time being in force under paragraph 15(4) of Schedule 16 to the Social Security Act 1973(1) (other than a pension which does not exceed that amount by reason of the commutation of part thereof under paragraph (1)), the Board may, at its discretion, commute it for a gratuity.
(3) The provisions of regulation 15, relating to the termination of an adult survivor’s special award on remarriage or the formation of a civil partnership or cohabitation, shall apply in relation to a gratuity under this regulation as they apply in relation to a gratuity under regulation 12 or 13.
(4) A gratuity under this regulation shall be calculated in accordance with paragraph (6).
(5) Where an adult survivor is entitled to more than one adult survivor’s pension, under these Regulations or the 1988 Regulations, in respect of the death of the same person but, in pursuance of regulation 26, is not entitled to receive, in respect of any particular period, payment on account of more than one of those pensions, those adult survivor’s pensions shall be treated for the purposes of this regulation as a single adult survivor’s pension and, where one of those pensions is an adult survivor’s special pension under regulation 12 or 13, that single pension shall be treated for the purposes of paragraph (1) as if it were an adult survivor’s special pension.
(6) A gratuity under this regulation shall be of an amount equal to 11 times the annual value of the special pension or, as the case may be, of that part thereof which is commuted or of such greater amount as may be agreed between the Board and the adult survivor not exceeding the capitalised value of the pension or, as the case may be, that part thereof which is commuted, calculated in accordance with tables prepared from time to time for the purpose by the Scheme actuary.
24.—(1) Where a child is entitled to a child’s special allowance, the Board may, subject to regulation 25, commute it for a gratuity:
Provided that the Board shall not exercise its discretion under this paragraph unless—
(a)the child’s surviving parent or guardian consents or, where he has no such parent or guardian, the child himself consents, and
(b)it is satisfied that there are sufficient reasons for so doing.
(2) Where the Board is precluded by reason of the provisions of regulation 25 from exercising its discretion under paragraph (1) but otherwise would exercise it, it may, subject to those provisions, exercise that discretion in relation to part only of the allowance.
(3) A gratuity under this regulation shall be of such amount as may be agreed between the Board and the child’s surviving parent or guardian, or between the Board and the child where he has no such parent or guardian, not exceeding the capitalised value of the special allowance or, as the case may be, that part thereof which is commuted, calculated in accordance with tables prepared from time to time for the purpose by the Scheme actuary.
25.—(1) This regulation applies in the case of a police officer who has died while in receipt of an ordinary, short service, ill-health or deferred pension awarded under the 1988 Regulations (“the principal pension”).
(2) The Board shall not under regulation 23 or 24 substitute for the whole or any part of an adult survivor’s special pension or child’s special allowance payable in respect of such a police officer a gratuity the actuarial equivalent of which (within the meaning of paragraph (3)) when added to that of—
(a)any other gratuity so substituted under regulation 23 or 24, and
(b)any lump sum paid or payable under regulation B7 of the 1988 Regulations, where a portion of the principal pension has been commuted,
exceeds a quarter of the capitalised value of the principal pension, any reduction therein under the said regulation B7 being ignored.
(3) For the purposes of this regulation the actuarial equivalent of a gratuity or lump sum and the capitalised value of the principal pension shall, in each case, be at the time of the deceased officer’s retirement, as calculated by the Scheme actuary.
26.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where, but for this regulation, a person would be entitled to receive, in respect of any particular period, payments on account of more than one award in respect of the death of the same person—
(a)each of the awards being an adult survivor’s special or augmented award under regulation 12 or 13 or an adult survivor’s pension under Part C of the 1988 Regulations, or
(b)each of the awards being a child’s special allowance under regulation 16 or a child’s allowance under Part D of the 1988 Regulations or an adult dependent relative’s special pension under regulation 19,
he shall be entitled to receive, in respect of that period, payment on account of one only of those awards; and the award payable shall be that from time to time selected by the person concerned or, in default of such selection where one award is for the time being greater than any other such award, the award which is for the time being the greater.
(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall prevent a person from being entitled to receive more than one such award as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) thereof if—
(a)the awards in question are calculated, directly or indirectly, by reference to different periods of pensionable service, and
(b)no award in question falls to be increased in accordance with regulation E8, or to be determined in accordance with regulation E10, of the 1988 Regulations.
27.—(1) This regulation applies to an adult survivor’s special pension or augmented pension under regulation 12 or 13 and to a child’s special allowance under regulation 16 where the person in respect of whose death the award is payable was, immediately before his death—
(a)serving as a police officer, or
(b)in receipt of a pension under regulation 10 or Part B of the 1988 Regulations,
and, for the purposes of sub-paragraph (b), the provisions of regulation A7 of the 1988 Regulations shall be disregarded.
(2) An adult survivor’s special or augmented pension to which this regulation applies shall, so far as necessary, be increased in respect of the first 13 weeks for which it is payable so as to secure that, in respect of each such week, the aggregate amount of the pension and of any children’s special allowances under regulation 16 or children’s allowances under Part D of the 1988 Regulations payable in respect of the same person’s death is not less than—
(a)in the case mentioned in paragraph (1)(a), the police officer’s relevant emoluments for a week immediately before he died, or
(b)in the case mentioned in paragraph (1)(b), the weekly amount of his pension together with any increase therein, immediately before he died, under the Pensions (Increase) Acts;
and, for the purposes of sub-paragraph (b)—
(i)there shall be disregarded any reduction in the police officer’s pension in consequence of paragraph 7 of Schedule 3, and
(ii)where the police officer died while in receipt of both an ordinary, short service or ill-health pension awarded under Part B of the 1988 Regulations and an injury pension under regulation 10, the reference therein to the weekly amount of his pension shall be construed as a reference to the aggregate weekly amount of those pensions.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a) a police officer’s relevant emoluments for a week are—
(a)his pensionable pay for the week, and
(b)so much as is attributable to the week of any allowances to which he was entitled under regulation 37 of and Schedule 4 to the Police Service of Northern Ireland Regulations 2005(2).
(4) Where a child’s special allowance to which this regulation applies is payable in respect of the death of a person who did not leave an adult survivor entitled to a special or augmented pension which was payable for a continuous period of 13 weeks the special allowance shall, so far as necessary, be increased in respect of the first 13 weeks for which it is payable so as to secure that, in respect of each such week, it is not less than the amount specified in paragraph (2)(a) or (b) except that, where two or more such special allowances are payable in respect of the death of the same person, each allowance shall be so increased that it is of that amount divided by the number of such allowances:
Provided that where an adult survivor’s special or augmented pension is payable in respect of any such week, a child’s special allowance in respect of the death of the same person shall not be so increased in respect of that week.
28.—(1) Where it is provided that, for the purpose of calculating an award by way of periodical payments or a gratuity (“the relevant award”), an amount shall be increased in accordance with this regulation, it shall be increased by the amount, if any, by which a corresponding pension, within the meaning of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971(3), of the amount first mentioned would from time to time be increased under the Pensions (Increase) Acts if—
(a)it were payable to the person entitled to the relevant award;
(b)it were one of the pensions specified in paragraph 43 of Part II of Schedule 2 to the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971;
(c)it were not a pension to which section 1(2)(a) of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1974(4) applies, and
(d)it began, within the meaning of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971, and became payable when the relevant award so began and became payable.
(2) Where the relevant award is a child’s special allowance, the Pensions (Increase) Acts as applied by paragraph (1) shall have effect as if section 3 were omitted from the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 and, accordingly, the amount first mentioned in paragraph (1) shall be increased so long as the special allowance is payable.