http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2006/210/body/made

The Firemen’s Pension Scheme Order (Northern Ireland) 2006

Civil partnership

Fire and rescue services

Pensions

Death in service

Fire

Government Printer for Northern Ireland

2023-07-31

FIRE SERVICES;SUPERANNUATION

This Order brings into operation the Firemen’s Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2006 set out in the Annex to the Order (“the 2006 Scheme”) and revokes the Orders specified in Schedule 13. It effects consolidation and also makes provision for the implementation of pension sharing on divorce and nullity in accordance with the Welfare and Pensions Reform Order (Northern Ireland) 1999 and subordinate legislation made under that Order. The principal changes, apart from those that consist in the omission of spent or obsolete provisions, are :to make provision for part-time regular firemen to be treated the same as whole-time regular firemen for the purposes of the Scheme (see articles 7, 13, 14, 27 and 91), except that awards for part-time members will be reduced using the formula in Part IV of Schedule 2 to take account of the fact that the member’s pensionable service will relate to a period of part-time service;to make provision for the making of contributions and counting as pensionable service periods during when a member is on maternity, paternity or adoption leave (see articles 8, 14, 19, 53, 54, 55, 65, 67, Schedule 1 and Part VI of Schedule 2);to provide that when considering whether a disablement is permanent, the Authority will consider whether the disablement will continue until the age the person would have otherwise retired (see article 10);to replace the requirement for compulsory retirement at 55 for those of Station Officer or lower rank, and at 60 for those of Assistant Divisional Officer or higher rank, with a provision for a normal pension age of 55, whatever the individual’s rank (article 11);the correction of an anomaly in the rules which allowed an individual who was found unfit for fire-fighting, but able to carry out other duties, to resign with a deferred pension prior to re-deployment, and immediately request early payment of that pension on the ground that he or she was permanently unfit for fire-fighting (see article 19(4)(b));to provide that a pension shall not be reduced by the allocated portion where the beneficiary has died (article 23);to reduce the period of pensionable service required to be entitled to a spouse’s or civil partner’s ordinary pension and surviving spouse’s or civil partner’s requisite benefit and temporary pension from 3 years to 2 years (articles 28 and 33);the amalgamation of formerly separate provisions for widows and widowers to receive a gratuity instead of a pension (article 48);to require a lump sum relating to a payment of periodical contributions for increased benefits to be paid within 3 months of the commencement of periodical contributions (article 71);to allow a child’s ordinary allowance to be paid in certain circumstances where a serviceman dies during his forces period or from an injury sustained during that period (article 80);to enable the Authority to review all cases where a fireman has received early payment of a deferred pension due to permanent disablement (article 94);to prevent the Authority withdrawing a pension under Part C (Awards on death – spouses or civil partners) from a regular fireman who is entitled to it whilst serving as such (article 97);to provide that where both parents of a child were firemen and have died, the child may receive a pension in respect of both parents (article 101);to enable civil partners to qualify for survivor benefits under the Scheme on the same basis as spouses;amendment to the provisions in article 101, which prevents duplication of certain injury awards. The main change of substance is to prevent duplicate injury awards in cases where the individual is employed as both a regular fireman and as a retained fireman. A new article 102 is introduced to deal expressly with the prevention of duplication in those cases;the insertion of a new Part N and new material consequential on section 270 of the Finance Act 2004, which requires pension schemes to identify a scheme administrator to the Inland Revenue;the amendment of the definition of “independent qualified medical practitioner” in Part I of Schedule 1 to the Scheme, to reflect a change in the meaning of “a competent authority” brought about by the General and Specialist Medical Practice (Education, Training and Qualifications) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/1250, amended by S.I. 2004/1947)to make legislative provision for the re-deployment of personnel where opportunity exists;to make changes to require an appellant, in certain circumstances, to pay the costs when he withdraws an appeal to the independent medical referee (see Schedule 9); andto make a minor clarification to article 21 (commutation – general provision).