The Firemen’s Pension Scheme Amendment (Scotland) Order 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Firemen’s Pension Scheme, as set out in Schedule 2 to the Firemen’s Pension Scheme Order 1992 (“the principal Order”), as it applies in Scotland. The amendments are set out in the Schedule to this Order. The main changes are as follows:

• to make provision for part-time regular firefighters to be treated the same as whole-time regular firefighters for the purposes of the Scheme, except that awards for part-time members will be reduced to take account of the fact that the member’s pensionable service will relate to a period of part-time service;

• to make provision for the counting as pensionable service periods during which a member is on maternity, paternity or adoption leave;

• to make provision for the making of optional pension contributions during the period in which a member is on maternity or adoption leave;

• to provide that when considering whether a disablement is permanent, the authority will consider whether the disablement will continue until the age at which the person would have otherwise retired;

• to amend the requirement to allocate a portion of pension to a beneficiary, so that the authority must be satisfied that the member has a normal life expectancy and to provide that a pension shall not be reduced by the allocated portion where the beneficiary has died;

• to reduce the period of pensionable service required to be entitled to a spouse’s ordinary pension and widow’s requisite benefit and temporary pension from 3 years to 2 years;

• to require a lump sum relating to a payment of periodical contributions for increased benefits to be paid within 3 months of the commencement of periodical contributions;

• to provide that when determining medical issues, the authority must obtain a binding written opinion from an independent qualified medical practitioner, who must certify that he is independent from the case; and

• to make changes to require an appellant, in certain circumstances, to pay the costs when he withdraws an appeal to the board of medical referees.

Some of the amendments take effect from a date before this Order comes into force. Section 12 of the Superannuation Act 1972, as applied by section 16 of that Act, provides that orders made under section 26 of the Fire Services Act 1947 may have retrospective effect. Amendments in relation to the following rules, and any matters incidental to them, in the principal Order, therefore, have effect as follows:

• rules C1 (spouse’s ordinary pension) and C6 (widow’s requisite benefit and temporary pension) have effect from 6th April 1997;

• rules F2A, G1 and G2A, in so far as they relate to maternity leave, have effect from 23rd June 1994;

• rules F2A, G1 and G2A, in so far as they relate to adoption and paternity leave, have effect from 8th December 2002; and

• rule I3 (awards on death of servicemen) and paragraphs (4) and (5) of rule J4 (part-time member of a brigade) have effect from 1st March 1992.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument, as it has no impact on the costs of businesses, charities or voluntary bodies.