The Health and Social Care Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023

PART 4 Amendments to the Health and Social Care Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

General

17.  The Health and Social Care Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015(1) are amended as follows.

Amendment of regulation 21

18.  In regulation 21 (absence from work) in paragraph (1)(e) after “parental leave,” insert “shared parental leave, or”.

Amendment of regulation 28

19.  In regulation 28 (pensionable earnings: break in service) in paragraph (2)(e) after “parental leave,” insert “shared parental leave, or”.

Amendment of regulation 30

20.—(1) Regulation 30 (Members’ contributions: employees)(2) is amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph (3)—

(a) after “the scheme year 2022/23” insert “(from 1 November 2022) and scheme year 2023/24 and each subsequent scheme year;

(b) for the table in paragraph (3), substitute—

“Table Scheme Year 2022/23 (from 1 November 2022) and Scheme Year 2023/24 and each subsequent scheme year.

Column 1 Pensionable earnings band	Column 2 Contribution percentage rate
Up to £13,246	5.1%
£13,247 to £16,831	5.7%
£16,832 to £22,878	6.1%
£22,879 to £23,948	6.8%
£23,949 to £28,223	7.7%
£28,224 to £29,179	8.8%
£29,180 to £43,805	9.8%
£43,806 to £49,245	10.0%
£49,246 to £56,163	11.6%
£56,164 to £72,030	12.5%
£72,031 and above	13.5%”

(3) In paragraph (3A)—

(a) after “the scheme year 2022/23” insert “(from 1 November 2022) and scheme year 2023/24 and each subsequent scheme year”;

(b) for the table in paragraph (3A), substitute—

“Table Scheme Year 2022/23 (from 1 November 2022) and Scheme Year 2023/24 and each subsequent scheme year

Column 1 Pensionable earnings band	Column 2 Contribution percentage rate
Up to £13,246	5.1%
£13,247 to £16,831	5.7%
£16,832 to £22,878	6.1%
£22,879 to £23,948	6.8%
£23,949 to £28,223	7.7%
£28,224 to £29,179	8.8%
£29,180 to £43,805	9.8%
£43,806 to £49,245	10.0%
£49,246 to £56,163	11.6%
£56,164 to £72,030	12.5%
£72,031 and above	13.5%”

Amendment of regulation 31

21.—(1) Regulation 31 (members’ contributions: practitioners and non-GP providers)(3) is amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph (9)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (a), for “each scheme year from 2015/16 to 2021/22, Table 1” substitute “the scheme year 2022/23, Table 1A and Table 1B as applicable”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (b), for “the scheme year 2022/23” substitute “scheme year 2023/24 and each subsequent scheme year”

(c) for the heading “Table 1 Scheme Years from 2015/16 to 2021/22” substitute “Table 1A Scheme Year 2022/23 from 1 April 2022 to 31^sOctober 2022 (both dates inclusive)”;

(d) after Table 1, insert—

“Table 1B Scheme Year 2022/23 from 1 November 2022 to 31 March 2023 (both dates inclusive)

Column 1	Column 2
Pensionable earnings band	Contribution percentage rate
Up to £13,246	5.1%
£13,247 to £16,831	5.7%
£16,832 to £22,878	6.1%
£22,879 to £23,948	6.8%
£23,949 to £28,223	7.7%
£28,224 to £29,179	8.8%
£29,180 to £43,805	9.8%
£43,806 to £49,245	10.0%
£49,246 to £56,163	11.6%
£56,164 to £72,030	12.5%
£72,031 and above	13.5%”

(e) in the heading for Table 2, for “Year 2022/23” substitute “Year 2023/24 and each subsequent scheme year”.

(f) For Table 2, substitute—

“Column 1	Column 2
Pensionable earnings band	Contribution percentage rate
Up to £13,246	5.1%
£13,247 to £16,831	5.7%
£16,832 to £22,878	6.1%
£22,879 to £23,948	6.8%
£23,949 to £28,223	7.7%
£28,224 to £29,179	8.8%
£29,180 to £43,805	9.8%
£43,806 to £49,245	10.0%
£49,246 to £56,163	11.6%
£56,164 to £72,030	12.5%
£72,031 and above	13.5%”

Amendment of regulation 67

22.  In regulation 67 (effect of being absent or leaving and rejoining scheme during contributions payment period) in paragraph (1)(e) after “parental leave” insert “or shared parental leave”.

Amendment of regulation 104

23.  In regulation 104 (previous earnings: general), in paragraph (7), in the definition of “re-valued pensionable earnings”, omit “and Personnel” and after “by order” insert “(in respect of the HSC Pension Scheme 2015)”.

Amendment of Schedule 7

24.—(1) Schedule 7 (pension accounts) is amended as follows.

(2) (2) In paragraph 1 (interpretation)—

(a) for the definition of “index adjustment” substitute—

““index adjustment” means—

(a)

in relation to the opening balance of earned pension for a scheme year (other than the opening balance of club transfer earned pension), the percentage increase or decrease in prices specified in an order (in respect of the HSC Pension Scheme 2015) made by the Department of Finance under section 9(2) of the 2014 Act in relation to the previous scheme year, plus 1.5%; and

(b)

in relation to the opening balance of club transfer earned pension for a scheme year, the adjustment that is—

(i)

equal to the adjustment that would apply to the opening balance of that amount of earned pension under the sending scheme for the previous scheme year, and;

(ii)

applied to the opening balance of club transfer earned pension on the same day as the percentage increase or decrease referred to in paragraph (a).”

(b) in the definition of “AP index adjustment”, after “in an order”, insert “(in respect of the HSC Pension Scheme 2015)” and omit “and Personnel”.

(3) In paragraph 3 (meaning of “leaver index adjustment”)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (1), in Step 1, after “in an order”, insert “(in respect of the HSC Pension Scheme 2015)” and omit “and Personnel”;

(b) for sub-paragraph (2), substitute—

“(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (2A), the leaver index adjustment for an amount of club transfer accrued earned pension is—

(a) equal to the adjustment that would apply under the sending scheme to an amount of accrued earned pension equal to the amount of club transfer accrued earned pension specified in the active member’s account at the end of the relevant last day; and

(b) applied to the amount of club transfer earned pension at the end of the relevant last day on the same day as the percentage increase or decrease referred to in the definition of index adjustment in paragraph 1(a).”.

(c) after paragraph (b) insert –

“(2A) If the amount of the leaver index adjustment under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) is an amount that is less than zero, the amount of the leaver index adjustment for the purposes of that sub-paragraph paragraphs is zero.”

(4) In paragraph 4 (meaning of “leaver AP index adjustment”), in sub-paragraph (2)(b), after “in an order”, insert “(in respect of the HSC Pension Scheme 2015)” and omit “and Personnel”.

Amendment of Schedule 8

25.  In Schedule 8 (practitioner income) in paragraph 3—

(a) in sub-paragraph (3)(b) after “parental leave,” insert “shared parental leave,”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (4)(b) after “parental leave,” insert “shared parental leave,”.

Amendment of Schedule 13

26.  In Schedule 13(4) (definitions)—

(a) at the appropriate place in Column 1, insert “shared parental leave”, and for the corresponding entry in Column 2 insert “means leave under section 107E or 107G of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996;

(1)

S.R. 2015 No.120 as amended by S.R. 2016 No.384; S.R 2019 No.62; S.R 2022 No.153; S.R 2022 No.156; S.R 2022 No.196; S.R 2022 No.244 and S.R 2022 No.245.

(2)

Regulation 30 as amended by S.R. 2019 No.62, regulation 14 and S.R 2022 No.244.

(3)

Regulation 31 was amended by S.R. 2019 No.62; S.R. 2022 No.244;

(4)

Schedule 13 is amended by S.R. 2016 No.384; S.R. 2022 No.196;