The Judicial Pensions Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

CHAPTER 1 Eligibility for active membership

Qualifying judicial office

13.  For the purpose of these Regulations, a person who is appointed to an office specified in an order made under paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 (holders of judicial office) to the Act is in qualifying judicial office.

Eligible persons

14.—(1) For the purposes of this Part, an eligible person is a person who is eligible to be an active member of this scheme.

(2) A person who begins service in a qualifying judicial office (P) becomes an eligible person in relation to that service unless paragraph (3) or (4) applies and subject to paragraphs (5) and (6).

(3) This paragraph applies if the terms of P’s office exclude them from being an active member of this scheme.

(4) This paragraph applies if, in relation to service in that office—

(a) P is a protected member of an existing scheme;

(b) P has a partnership pension account; or

(c) P is a member of any other pension scheme and P’s employer pays contributions to that scheme in respect of P.

(5) P is not eligible to be a member of this scheme if—

(a) P is in a fee-paid office;

(b) P was in a fee-paid office on 31st March 2012;

(c) P was aged 55 years or over on 1st April 2012; and

(d) P does not exercise the option to begin pensionable service under this scheme on 1st April 2015 in the form and by the date determined by the scheme manager.

(6) P is not eligible to be a member of this scheme until a date during the period beginning with 31st May 2015 and ending with 31st January 2022 as determined by the scheme manager by reference to a table published for the purposes of paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 if—

(a) P is in a fee-paid office;

(b) P was in a fee-paid office on 31st March 2012;

(c) P was aged between 51 years and 6 months and 55 years on 1st April 2012; and

(d) P does not exercise the option to begin pensionable service under this scheme on 1st April 2015 in the form and by the date determined by the scheme manager.

Service in 2 or more qualifying judicial offices

15.  If a person is in service in 2 or more qualifying judicial offices, regulation 14 applies separately in relation to each office.