Membership of the Scheme
5.—(1) A person who is an active member of the 2009 Scheme in an employment immediately before 1st April 2015 becomes an active member of the Scheme on 1st April 2015 in that employment provided the person is eligible for membership of the Scheme on that date.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a person who ceases to be an active member on 31st March 2015 by virtue of regulation 10 (ending of membership) of the Administration Regulations and these Regulations apply to any such person as if that person is not an active member immediately before 1st April 2015.
(3) Notwithstanding regulation 3(2) (active membership) of the 2014 Regulations, a person who is eligible to be an active member of the 2009 Scheme immediately before 1st April 2015 who is not a member of 2009 Scheme, does not become a member of the Scheme on 1st April 2015 unless that date is an automatic enrolment date for that member.
(4) If any person has notified an employer under regulation 10(2) (ending of membership) of the Administration Regulations before 1st April 2015 of a wish to leave the 2009 Scheme, but would not (apart from this paragraph) have ceased to be an active member immediately before 1st April 2015—
(a)paragraph (1) does not apply to that person;
(b)the person’s active membership ceases on 31st March 2015; and
(c)these Regulations apply to that person as if that person is not an active member immediately before 1st April 2015.
(5) A person who was a deferred member of one of the earlier Schemes whose benefits under those Schemes have not come into payment and who becomes an active member of the Scheme by virtue of regulation 3(1) (active membership) of the 2014 Regulations without a disqualifying break, may choose, by notice in writing to the Committee within 12 months of becoming a member of the Scheme, to be treated as if he or she had become an active member of the Scheme by virtue of paragraph (1).
(6) A disqualifying break for the purposes of paragraph (5) is a continuous break of more than five years in active membership of a public service pension scheme.
(7) A designation by an employing authority of an employee or class of employees as being eligible for membership of the 2009 Scheme pursuant to regulations 3 (general eligibility for membership) and 6 (admission agreements – further provisions) of the Administration Regulations has effect as a designation as being eligible for membership of the Scheme.