The Health and Personal Social Services (Superannuation Scheme, Injury Benefits and Additional Voluntary Contributions), Health and Social Care (Pension Scheme) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Health and Personal Social Services (Superannuation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (S.R. 1995 No.95) (“the 1995 Regulations”), the Health and Social Care (Pension Scheme) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 (S.R. 2008 No.256) (“the 2008 Regulations”), the Health and Personal Social Services (Injury Benefits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (S.R. 2001 No.367) (“the Injury Benefits Regulations”) and the Health and Personal Social Services (Superannuation) (Additional Voluntary Contributions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 (S.R. 2001 No.294) (“the AVC Regulations”).

Regulation 1 provides for citation, commencement and effect, including that certain provisions of this rule are to take effect from various dates before the date of commencement. Article 14(1) of the Superannuation (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 provides authority for the regulations specified in regulation 1(3) and (4) to take effect as from a date earlier than the making of these Regulations.

The remainder of the Regulations is divided into five Parts, with Parts 2 to 5 amending the 1995 Regulations, the 2008 Regulations, the Injury Benefits Regulations and the AVC Regulations respectively, and Part 6 providing that certain persons detrimentally affected by these Regulations may elect for the provisions not to apply to them.

Parts 2 and 3 make similar amendments in respect of both the 1995 Regulations and the 2008 Regulations. They also introduce amendments specific to either the 1995 Regulations or the 2008 Regulations.

The changes dealing with similar issues in Parts 2 and 3 (amending the 1995 and 2008 Regulations)—

• introduce new provisions covering the arrangements for certain re-employed pensioner members of the 1995 Section to join the 2008 Section once a specified period of time has passed since retirement (regulations 3(e), 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17(d), 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34, 35(e), 38, 39 , 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, and 51)

• amend the definition of “Ophthalmic Provider” (regulations 3(a) to (e), 17 (a) to (d) and 35(a) to (e))

• clarify that in certain circumstances persons who have opted out of the 1995 Section and pensioner members of other Health Service schemes (England & Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man) will not be permitted to join or re-join that Section (regulations 4(2)(a) to (f), 12, 19 and 37). The changes relating to persons who have opted out and who cannot count any service in the 1995 section are made with retrospective effect from 1st April 2008 (see regulation 1)

• provide for an adjustment to the method of revaluing ‘Additional Pension’ purchased to allow for negative inflation (regulations 14, 23 and 40)

• add, to the range of interested parties that have to be declared in returns completed in connection with the distribution of pensionable earnings between principal dental practitioners, the name of any practice shareholder (regulation 36).

The changes specific to Part 2 (amending the 1995 Regulations)—

• clarify the way in which benefits resulting from a contract to purchase additional service are reduced when the member retires before normal pension age and claims actuarially reduced benefits (regulations 6, 7 and 13);

• clarify the type of contributions to be paid by a host Board, (regulation 15).

The changes specific to Part 3 (amending the 2008 Regulations)—

• amend the definitions associated with the formulae used for calculating reckonable pay (regulation 18)

• provide for employing authorities to pay a contribution to cover the cost of the early payment of the mandatory retirement lump sum paid to an Optant who retires from that authority on grounds of redundancy (regulation 22)

• adjust the income used to assess the abatement of a pension on a pensioner’s re-employment to take account of the mandatory lump sum that must be taken by a 2008 Section Optant (regulations 31 and 48)

• permit the acceptance of an option to join the 2008 Section made by 1995 Section members in certain circumstances with retrospective effect to 1st October 2009 (regulations 32, 33, 49 and 50).

Part 4 amends the Injury Benefits Regulations to insert and update definitions relating to “GP performer”, “GP provider” and “registered medical practitioner” (regulations 53 and 54).

Part 5 (regulation 55) amends the AVC Regulations to—

• enable AVC arrangements to take advantage of HMRC easements under the Registered Pension Schemes (Authorised Payments) Regulations 2009

• provide that a person with AVC proceeds totalling less than £2000 who is unable to secure an annuity, will be able to take payment in the form of a lump sum

• incorporate references to the 1995 and 2008 Health and Social Care Pension Scheme Regulations.

Part 6 provides that deferred members, or members in receipt of a relevant benefit, who are detrimentally affected by these Regulations may elect for the provisions not to apply to them by giving notice within six months of the coming into operation of these Regulations (regulation 56).