Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 (“the principal Regulations”) which constitute the Local Government Pension Scheme (“the Scheme”).

Regulation 2 takes effect from a date before the Regulations come into operation. Article 14 of the Superannuation (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 confers express powers to make regulations retrospective in effect. These Regulations are retrospective, however, no one will be adversely affected by the retrospective amendment.

Regulation 2 amends the principal Regulations so as to take account of new entitlements to paternity and adoption leave provided for by the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002. The principal Regulations are amended with effect from 1st February 2003 as follows –

• Regulation 16(2) is amended so that members of the Scheme taking paternity or ordinary adoption leave who are in receipt of pay (including statutory paternity or adoption pay) will be obliged to make contributions to the Scheme on that pay.

• Regulation 16(4) is amended so that members of the Scheme taking paternity or ordinary adoption leave who are not in receipt of pay will be treated during the paternity or ordinary adoption leave period as if they had paid contributions.

• Regulation 79(6) is amended so that Scheme employers will also have to make contributions to the pension fund on behalf of the member taking paternity or ordinary adoption leave as if they were not absent from work.

• Regulation 17(2) is amended so that those members of the Scheme taking additional leave can opt whether or not to pay contributions during the additional leave period. Under the amended regulation 8(6) if they choose not to pay contributions, then the period of additional leave will not count for membership purposes, although the periods of employment before and after the additional leave will be treated as continuous.

• Regulation 22(7) is amended so that in calculating final pay, a member’s pay for any period of paternity or adoption leave in respect of which contributions are paid or treated as being paid will be treated as if the member had paid the contributions that would have been paid had he not been absent.

• Further, regulation 57(8) is amended so that where a member elects to make an additional contribution, a reduction in pay as a result of periods of paternity or adoption leave taken during the interval at the end of which the additional contribution falls to be paid, will be taken into account when assessing the amount of the additional contribution.

• Consequential amendments are also made to Schedule 1 to define ordinary adoption and paternity leave and periods of paternity or adoption absence.