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

PART II WAR SERVICE FOLLOWED BY FIRE SERVICE

1.—(1) For the purposes of this Part a person’s war service is, subject to sub-paragraph (2), the period of his whole-time service after 2nd September 1939 but before lst July 1950, while 18 years old or older, in the armed forces of the Crown, in the merchant navy or the mercantile marine, or in any of the women’s services that were specified in Schedule 1 to the Superannuation Act 1946(1).

(2) A person’s war service does not include any period—

(a) in respect of which any non-effective pay or excess remuneration has been received by him and not repaid; or

(b) by virtue of which any armed forces pension or retired pay is payable to him in pursuance of any Royal Warrant or other instrument otherwise than in respect of disablement; or

(c) by virtue of which he is entitled to reckon any period as pensionable service otherwise than under this Part; or

(d) which he has reckoned or had the opportunity to reckon for the purposes of a public service pension scheme within the meaning of section 1 of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(a)—

(a) “non-effective pay” includes naval, military and air force pensions, retired pay, and gratuities (other than war gratuities to which section 23 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 1945(2) applied); and

(b) “excess remuneration” means, in relation to a retired officer of the armed forces of the Crown who is re-employed in those forces, any service pension drawn in respect of such period of re-employment or any addition to the normal pay attaching to the post in which the officer is re-employed which is granted by reason of the officer’s former employment in those forces,

and the Authority shall be entitled to rely on a certificate, signed by a duly authorised officer of the Ministry of Defence, that non-effective pay or excess remuneration was, or was not, paid in respect of any period and as to the sufficiency of any repayment.

2.  This Part applies in the case of a person with war service who—

(a) after the end of his war service and before lst July 1950 served as a member of the brigade; and

(b) is, or was immediately before his death, entitled to reckon pensionable service by virtue of his service before that date,

and in this Schedule “qualified fireman” means a person in whose case this Part applies.

3.—(1) Where this Part applies a war service election may be made by the qualified fireman.

(2) The notice of election must specify the period of war service by virtue of which the additional pensionable service is to be reckonable (“the specified period”).

(3) The notice must be given not earlier than 3 months before his intended retirement nor later than 3 months (or such longer period as the Authority may allow) after his retirement, and if—

(a) he dies while serving as a regular fireman; or

(b) he retires more than 3 months after the notice was given,

the election does not take effect.

(4) Subject to sub-paragraph (5) and to Part V, where—

(a) an election has taken effect; and

(b) the payment conditions in paragraph 4 are satisfied,

the qualified fireman shall be treated as having been entitled, immediately before his retirement to reckon as pensionable service for the purposes specified in the notice (“the specified purposes”) a period equal to half the specified period.

(5) Where—

(a) the period specified in the notice is the whole of his war service; and

(b) a shorter period would produce the benefits sought,

the shorter period shall be substituted as the specified period.

4.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (8) and (9), the payment conditions are satisfied if the required amount is paid to the Authority within the appropriate period, or such longer period as the Authority may allow.

(2) Where the qualified fireman—

(a) has commuted a portion of his pension for a lump sum equal to or greater than the required amount; and

(b) has not been paid the lump sum; and

(c) instructs the Authority in writing to deduct the required amount from the lump sum,

the required amount is to be treated as having been paid when the instruction was given.

(3) The required amount is—

(a) where the specified purposes are those mentioned in paragraph 2(3)(a) of Part I, the basic amount calculated in accordance with sub-paragraph (4); and

(b) where the specified purposes are those mentioned in paragraph 2(3)(b) of Part I, the total of the basic amount and the additional amount calculated in accordance with sub-paragraph (5) or, as the case may be, sub-paragraphs (5) and (6).

(4) The basic amount is

 £ A + B,

where—

• A is one seventh of 0.225 times the number of days of additional pensionable service, and

• B is interest on A at three and a half per cent per annum, compounded with yearly rests, from lst July 1950 to the date of payment, or if earlier, the date of the qualified fireman’s death.

(5) Subject to sub-paragraph (6), the additional amount is half the amount by which the actuarial value of the hypothetical pension, calculated in accordance with tables prepared by the Government Actuary, is increased by virtue of the additional pensionable service; the hypothetical pension is the pension that would have been payable to a surviving spouse entitled to such a pension if —

(a) the qualified fireman had died on the date of his retirement; and

(b) article 51 (increase during first 13 weeks) had not applied.

(6) Where the qualified fireman is, or on retirement will be, entitled to a deferred pension, the additional amount calculated in accordance with sub-paragraph (5) is increased by adding to it interest at three and a half per cent per annum, compounded with yearly rests, from lst July 1950 to the date of payment or, if earlier, the date of his death.

(7) The appropriate period for payment of the required amount is one of 3 months beginning on the date on which notice of the election was given.

(8) Where the qualified fireman is entitled to a deferred pension which has not come into payment within the appropriate period, the payment conditions are satisfied if the required amount is paid to the Authority within 3 months after the date on which the pension comes into payment.

(1)

1946 c. 60, Schedule 1 was repealed by the Superannuation Act 1965 (c. 74), section 104 and Schedule 11.

(2)

1945 c. 13; section 23 was replaced by the Income Tax Act 1952 (c. 10)