The New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Contributions) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2012 No. 72

Fire And Rescue Services

Pensions

The New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Contributions) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012

Made

27th February 2012

Coming into force

1st April 2012

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 10(1), (3), (4) and (5) of the Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 (1), and now vested in it and with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel (2) in accordance with Article 10(1) of that Order makes the following Order:

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Contributions) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2012.

Amendment of the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme Order (Northern Ireland) 2007

2.  The Annex to the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (3) (in which the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) is set out) is amended in accordance with article 3.

3.  In chapter 1 of Part 11 (pensionable pay, pension contributions and purchase of additional service), in article 63 (pension contributions) for paragraph (1) substitute—

“(1) (a) Subject to sub- paragraph (e), from 1^st April 2012 a firefighter member shall pay pension contributions to the Board at the rate determined on the basis of his pensionable pay, in accordance with the following table.

Pensionable pay band	Contribution rate from 1st April 2012
Up to and including £15,000	8.5%
More than £15,000 and up to and including £30,000	9.1%
More than £30,000 and up to and including £40,000	9.3%
More than £40,000 and up to and including £50,000	9.4%
More than £50,000 and up to and including £60,000	9.5%
More than £60,000 and up to and including £100,000	9.6%
More than £100,000 and up to and including £120,000	9.7%
More than £120,000	9.8%

(b) Subject to sub-paragraph (e) within the period of 30 days beginning with 1^st April 2012 the Board shall notify the firefighter member of the contribution rate determined under sub-paragraph (a).

(c) Where the determination under sub-paragraph (a) relates to a retained or volunteer firefighter the contribution rate for that firefighter shall be determined on the basis of his reference pay.

(d) Where the determination under sub-paragraph (a) relates to a part-time regular firefighter, the contribution rate which applies to that firefighter shall be determined in accordance with that sub-paragraph on the basis of the pensionable pay of a whole-time regular firefighter.

(e) Where in the course of the year there is a permanent change to the terms and conditions of a regular firefighter’s employment which affects his pensionable pay during the year such that the firefighter falls into a different pensionable pay band to that applied at the beginning of the year, the contribution rate shall be adjusted from the date that the pensionable pay is changed, as notified to the firefighter by the Board, to that of the applicable new band.

(f) For the purposes of determining the appropriate pensionable pay band in the table set out in sub-paragraph (a), pensionable pay does not include payments made to a firefighter member by the Board in respect of his continual professional development, but those payments will be included in pensionable pay for the purposes of calculating the pension contribution to be paid.”

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 27^th February 2012.

Noel McCann

A senior officer of the

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

The Department of Finance and Personnel approves this Order.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 27^th February 2012.

Grace Nesbitt

A senior officer of the

Department of Finance and Personnel

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order increases employee pension contribution rates in the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 and introduces tiered contribution rates into the new firefighters’ pension scheme from 1^st April 2012.

(1)

S.I. 1984/1821 (N.I. 11)

(2)

Formerly the Department of Finance

(3)

S.R. 2007 No.215