The Teachers' Superannuation (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2006

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make further amendments to the Teachers' Superannuation (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (“the 2005 Regulations”), the Teachers (Compensation for Premature Retirement and Redundancy) (Scotland) Regulations 1996 (“the 1996 Regulations”) and the Teachers' Superannuation (Additional Voluntary Contributions) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 (“the AVC Regulations”).

Amendment of the 2005 Regulations

Regulation 3 amends regulation C2 of the 2005 Regulations which allows a teacher aged 50 or above whose salary is reduced or who takes up employment at a lower salary to elect that contributions should continue to be paid on the salary before the reduction. The effect of the amendment is that regulation C2 only applies where the reduction in salary or the taking up of employment at a lower salary occurs before 2nd December 2006.

Regulation 4 amends regulation E23 so that where a pension is commuted in exceptional circumstances of serious ill-health the whole pension, rather than so much of it as exceeds the teacher’s guaranteed minimum, is commuted. This amendment has effect from 14th June 2006, which is the date that the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-Out) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 came into force. Those Regulations allow the payment of a guaranteed minimum as a lump sum in circumstances of serious ill-health.

Amendment of the 1996 Regulations

Regulation 6 amends regulation 16A(1) of the 1996 Regulations to remove the requirement that regulation 16B, which provides for discretionary compensation on the termination of employment, only applies to teachers who are not entitled to retirement benefits under the 2005 Regulations. Under the substituted regulation 16B (substituted by regulation 7) the maximum compensation which can be paid is 66 weeks pay, less any redundancy payments to which the teacher is entitled and any compensation paid under Part IIIA of the regulations. These amendments have effect from 2nd December 2006.

Amendment of the AVC Regulations

Regulation 8 amends regulation 11 of the AVC Regulations to extend the circumstances under which an outward transfer value may be paid. This amendment has effect from 29th January 2007.

The powers to make the provisions in regulations 2 to 7 with retrospective effect are found in section 12(1) and 24(3)(c) of the Superannuation Act 1972.