The Judicial Pensions Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

Meaning of “final pay” N.I.

119.—(1) In this Chapter, “ final pay” in relation to a continuous period of pensionable service means the greater of the following amounts—

(a) the amount of a member's pensionable earnings payable in respect of the 12 months ending with the last day of pensionable service;

(b) the amount of a member's pensionable earnings payable in respect of any scheme year (“the earnings year”) in the 10 scheme years immediately before the last active scheme year.

(2) For the purpose of determining which of the amounts mentioned in paragraph (1) is the greater—

(a) if the member's continuous period of pensionable service was less than 12 months, the amount in paragraph (1)(a) is an amount equal to the member's annualised final pay; and

(b) the amount in paragraph (1)(b) is adjusted for inflation in accordance with paragraph (3).

(3) The amount of pensionable earnings payable in respect of the earnings year is adjusted for inflation by increasing it by the same amount as that by which the annual rate of a pension of an amount equal to the amount of pensionable earnings would have been increased under the 1971 Act by the day following the last day of pensionable service if—

(a) that pension was eligible to be so increased; and

(b) the beginning date for that pension was the first day of the next scheme year after the earnings year.

[F1 (4) In this regulation and in regulation 120, if the member is a transition member with continuity of service, “pensionable earnings” in respect of any period includes—

(a) the member’s pensionable earnings under an existing scheme before the closing date; and

(b) the amount which is the higher of—

(i) the total fees paid to the member in respect of qualifying fee-paid service in the period in question, or

(ii) the total fees which would have been paid to the member in respect of such service in the period in question if, for any office held by the member, the daily fee paid to the member had been the daily fee determined by the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal or accepted by the appropriate Minister to be payable in respect of that period.]

[F2 (5) In this regulation “qualifying fee-paid service” has the meaning given in regulation 4 of the FPJR 2017.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 119(4) substituted (2.5.2023) by The Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/63), regs. 1(2), 9(a)

F2 Reg. 119(5) inserted (2.5.2023) by The Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 (S.R. 2023/63), regs. 1(2), 9(b)