Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
Public Service Pensions
Laid before the Assembly in draft
Made
10th February 2016
Coming into operation in accordance with regulation 1
The Department of Finance and Personnel makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 1(1) and (2)(a), 2(1) and 3(1), (2), (3)(a) and (4) of the Public Service Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2014(1).
In accordance with section 21 of that Act, the Department has consulted the representatives of such persons as appear to the Department likely to be affected by these Regulations.
Pursuant to section 24(1) of that Act, a draft of this rule has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of the Assembly.
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions (Consequential Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.
(2) With the exception of regulation 4, these Regulations come into operation on 1st April 2016.
(3) Regulation 4 comes into operation on the same day as paragraph 38 of Schedule 13 to the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015(2) comes into operation, and on that day regulation 9 of the Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions (Consequential Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015(3) ceases to have effect.
2. In these Regulations—
“the 1993 Act” means the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993(4);
“the 2014 Act” means the Public Service Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2014;
“the new scheme” means the scheme established by regulation 3 of the Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014(5); and
“the old scheme” means the scheme made under Article 3 of the Superannuation (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(6) (superannuation schemes respects civil servants etc.) which is the principal civil service pension scheme (Northern Ireland) within the meaning of Article 4(10) of that Order (further provisions relating to schemes under Article 3).
3. This Part applies where—
(a)an election is made under section 7 (elections as to employments covered by contracting-out certificates) of the 1993 Act(7) in relation to persons who become members of the new scheme on or after 1st April 2015 and before 6th April 2016 (whether or not any of those persons are members of the old scheme); and
(b)the new scheme satisfies the requirements of section 5 (requirements for certification of schemes) of the 1993 Act(8).
4. After regulation 9 of The Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions (Consequential Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 insert—
9A.—(1) Chapter 3 of Part 4 of the 1993 Act (protection for early leavers: protection of increases in guaranteed minimum pensions (“anti-franking”)) is modified as follows.
(2) In the application of that Chapter to P as a member of the old scheme—
(a)in section 83(1)(a)(i) (general protection principle), the reference to the time when P ceases to be in pensionable service under a scheme that was, before the second abolition date, a salary-related contracted-out scheme is to be taken as a reference to the time when P ceases to be in pensionable service in relation to the new scheme; and
(b)subsequent references to “the cessation date” are to be construed accordingly.”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 10th February 2016.
(L.S.)
Grace Nesbitt
A senior officer of the
Department of Finance and Personnel
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Chapter 3 of Part 4 of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 concerns “anti-franking”, or the protection of increases in guaranteed minimum pensions (“GMPs”) which contracted-out schemes had to provide until 1997. For this purpose, the Regulations provide that the “cessation date”, when a person ceases to be in contracted-out employment under the old scheme (and from which point GMPs may need to be increased) is treated as the date when the person leaves the new scheme, and not the date when they transfer from their old scheme to their new scheme. Regulation 9 of The Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions (Consequential Provisions) Regulations (NI) 2015 includes a modification of the definition of “cessation date” in section 83 of the 1993 Act; that definition was amended by paragraph 38 of Schedule 13 to the Pensions Act (NI) 2015 as part of the abolition of contracting-out. On the coming into operation of regulation 4 of these Regulations, regulation 9 of The Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions (Consequential Provisions) Regulations (NI) 2015 shall cease to have effect and regulation 9A shall have effect.
Section 7 was amended by Art. 3(1) Sch.1 para. 40 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/671)
Section 5 was amended by Arts.1(2)(b), 3(1) of, and Sch.1 paragraph 38(2) to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/671), subsection 5(2B) was inserted by Article 133(3) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I.22))