The Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

Amendments to the Judicial Pensions Regulations 2015

3.—(1) The 2015 Regulations are amended as follows.

(2) For regulation 41(2) (closure of active member’s account) substitute—

“(2) The scheme manager must re-establish as active member’s account under this Chapter when the scheme manager closes a deferred member’s account under regulation 46.”.

(3) Omit regulation 49 (closure of full retirement account).

(4) In regulation 56(1)(b) (entitlement to full retirement pension) for “pensionable service under this scheme” substitute “qualifying judicial office”.

(5) After regulation 56(6) insert—

“(7) Where P resumes service in qualifying judicial office, this will not affect any entitlement under this regulation.”.

(6) Omit regulation 59 (full retirement pension ceases to be payable).

(7) In regulation 60 (exercise of partial retirement option)—

(a) in paragraph (1)(c), for “annual rate” substitute “amount”,

(b) in paragraph (2), after “part only of P’s accrued pensions” insert—

(c) “in respect of a particular office”, and

“(4) Where P holds more than one judicial office—

(a) P may exercise a partial retirement option separately in relation to each office held; and

(b) P may only access the pension accrued in relation to the particular office or offices in respect of which P is exercising the partial retirement option.

(5) For the purposes of calculating P’s annual pensionable earnings in relation to paragraph (1)(c) where P is a fee-paid office holder, the amount of pensionable earnings that P receives in respect of a particular office is calculated as follows—

Z per annum, where:

where—

J means the total fee-paid income in respect of that office over the preceding three years, or, if less than three years, over the period since P was first appointed to that office;

K means the lesser of—

(a)

3; or

(b)

the period in years (and a fraction of a year, determined by complete months) from the first sitting day in that particular office until the date of partial retirement;

“complete month” includes an incomplete month that consists of at least 16 days; and

Z means the annualised total of fees from that particular office.”

(8) In regulation 61 (partial retirement option notice)—

(a) in paragraph (2)(a)(i) after “pensions” insert—

“to which the office relates”, and

(b)

in paragraph (2)(a)(ii) after “pensions” insert—

“to which the office relates”; and

(c)

at the end of paragraph (2)(b) insert—

“, and

(c)

if P holds more than one office, the office or offices in respect of which P is exercising the partial retirement option.”.

(9) In regulation 64 (annual rate of partial retirement pension) at the end of paragraph (1) insert “in the office from which P is taking partial retirement.”.

(10) In regulation 65 (annual rate of full retirement pension) at the end of paragraph (1) insert “in the office from which P is taking partial retirement.”.