The Police Pensions (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2008

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Police Pensions Regulations 1987, the Police Pensions (Purchase of Increased Benefits) Regulations 1987, the Police (Injury Benefit) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 and the Police Pensions (Scotland) Regulations 2007. These amendments make provision for those Regulations to apply to a “specified employee of SOCA”. Specified employees of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (“SOCA”) are those who, immediately before joining SOCA, were serving as the Director General of the National Crime Squad, or a police member of the National Crime Squad or the National Criminal Intelligence Service. The amendments enable specified employees of SOCA to remain members of the pension scheme established by the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 and to transfer to the new pension scheme established by the Police Pensions (Scotland) Regulations 2007 should they so wish. The amendments also provide for the continued availability of benefits under the Police (Injury Benefit) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 where a specified employee of SOCA is permanently disabled as a result of injury received in the execution of duty.

These Regulations also provide for a new set of compulsory retirement ages for police officers and a new entitlement for voluntary retirement under the Police Pensions Regulations 1987, making related amendments to the Police Pensions (Purchase of Increased Benefits) Regulations 1987. Further, the amendments make a number of changes consequential on the implementation of section 126 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (c. 16) which made provision for the Director General and police members of the National Criminal Intelligence Service and National Crime Squad to become members of the Police Pension Scheme.

These Regulations have effect from 1st April 2006, apart from regulations 7(c), 17, 18, 20 and 23(7) (which have effect from 1st April 2002); regulation 8 (which has effect from 1st April 2006 until 30th September 2006); regulations 31 to 44 (which have effect from 6th April 2006) and regulations 4, 5 (as so far as it inserts paragraph (5C) into regulation A6 of the Police Pensions Regulations 1987), 9, 11(a), (b) and (d), 12 to 14, 16, 21(b), 22 and 24 to 30 (which have effect from 1st October 2006).