4.—(1) A member satisfies the 85 year rule if the sum of—
(a)the member’s age in whole years on the date of early retirement under paragraph 1;
(b)the member’s total membership in whole years;
(c)in a case where the request is made after the member’s local government employment ends, the period beginning with the end of that employment and ending with the early retirement date requested by the member; and
(d)in the case of a person who was a member of the 2000 Scheme immediately before 1st February 2003, any qualifying period counted by virtue of regulation 127 (rights as to service not matched by credited period) of the 2002 Regulations which was awarded before 1st February 2003,
is 85 years or more.
(2) In calculating the member’s total membership—
(a)the periods of membership taken into account are—
(i)the total membership the member accrued under the earlier Schemes which counts as membership in relation to the employment in respect of which the member has made a request to receive immediate payment of retirement benefits under paragraph 1; plus
(ii)the period during which the member paid, or is treated as having paid, contributions under regulations 11 (contributions) or 12 (temporary reduction in contributions) of the 2014 Regulations; plus
(iii)any period after 31st March 2015 of unpaid absence due to industrial action, or absence from work with permission with no pensionable pay otherwise than because of illness or injury, child related leave or reserve forces service leave, if contributions have been paid under regulation 18 (additional pension contributions) of the 2014 Regulations to cover that period; and
(b)no account is to be taken of—
(i)any increase in membership awarded under regulation 12 (power of employing authority to increase total membership of active members) of the Benefits Regulations;
(ii)any membership credited after 1st October 2012 under regulation 80 (right to count credited period) of the Administration Regulations or regulation 9 (transfers); or
(iii)subject to paragraph 5, any period on or after the date specified in regulation 33(4) (commencement of pensions following flexible retirement) of the 2014 Regulations or the date benefits became payable under regulation 18(1) (flexible retirement) of the Benefits Regulations or regulation 38(1A)(2) (requirements as to time of payment) of the 2002 Regulations.
S.R. 2009 No. 32; regulation 18 has been amended by S.R. 2012 No. 183 and S.R. 2013 No. 71.
S.R. 2002 No. 352; regulation 38(1A) was inserted by S.R. 2007 No. 152; it was revoked, with savings, by S.R. 2009 No. 34.