PART III OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

CHAPTER II INCREASE OF MEMBERSHIP BY EMPLOYING AUTHORITY

54 Power of employing authority to increase total membership of members leaving employment at or after 50
1 An employing authority may resolve to increase the total membership of a member who leaves his employment on or after his 50th birthday.
2 The additional period of membership must not exceed –
(a) the member’s total membership on the date he leaves his employment (“the relevant date”);
(b) the period by which that period falls short of 40 years;
(c) the period by which that period would have been increased if he had continued as an active member until he was 65; or
(d) 6 243/365 years,
whichever is the shortest.
3 A resolution under paragraph (1) may only be passed by an employing authority during the period –
(a) beginning one month before the relevant date; and
(b) ending 6 months after that date.
4 If such a resolution is passed before the relevant date it is conditional on the satisfaction on that date of the conditions for its making.
5 The death of the member after the relevant date does not affect his former employing authority’s power under this regulation.
6 The relevant additional period may only be counted as a period of membership if –
(a) the Committee and the employing authority agree before the expiry of the relevant period that the employing authority will pay increased contributions under regulation 79 to meet the cost of the increase in membership; or
(b) the employing authority makes the payment required by regulation 80(1) by reason of the resolution within that period.
7 The relevant period is the period of one month beginning –
(a) with the date on which the resolution was passed; or
(b) if by virtue of paragraph (4) the resolution was conditional, with the date on which the member leaves his employment.
8 If neither paragraph (6)(a) nor (6)(b) applies, the resolution shall cease to have effect.
9 If a person has been credited with a period of service under regulation 7, or has been paid compensation under regulation 31 of the Local Government (Discretionary Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 in respect of a cessation of employment, no resolution may be passed under this regulation by reason of that cessation.
S.R. 2001 No. 279
10 If a person becomes entitled on leaving an employment to an ill-health pension under regulation 29 calculated by reference to an enhanced membership period, no resolution may be passed under this regulation by reason of his leaving that employment.

55 Power of employing authority to increase total membership of new members
1 An employing authority may resolve to increase a member’s total membership.
2 Such a resolution may only be passed before the expiry of the period of six months beginning with the day on which he becomes a member.
3 The member must be aged less than 59 when he becomes a member.
4 The resolution must specify the additional period of membership.
5 That period must not exceed the maximum addition under Schedule 4.
6 Where the employing authority has passed a resolution under paragraph (1) the additional period may be counted as part of the member’s total membership.
7 But if when the member leaves his employment with the employing authority no person becomes immediately entitled to payment of a pension in respect of his membership the additional period may not be so counted.

56 Effect of increases under this Chapter for older members
1 This regulation applies where a member –
(a) is entitled under this Chapter to count an additional period as a period of membership; and
(b) was aged at least 45 on the first day of the earliest period of local government employment he is entitled to count as membership.
2 Where this regulation applies the retirement pension –
(a) to which the member would otherwise be entitled under regulation 26; or
(b) to which he would otherwise be entitled under regulation 33 (before applying any reduction under paragraph (4) of that regulation),
is increased by multiplying his final pay by the length in years of the additional period and dividing the resulting amount by 240.
3 The additional period does not count in the calculation of the standard retirement grant.