The Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) Regulations 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Teachers' Superannuation (Consolidation) Regulations 1988 (the principal Regulations).

Regulation 3 amends regulation B4(2)(a) of the principal Regulations so that a person may be in pensionable employment even if his salary is related to an accepted school’s profit or performance.

Regulation 4 amends regulation C1 of the principal Regulations so as to provide a new definition of contributable salary, and to change the election provisions where contributable salary has been reduced.

Regulation 5 amends regulation C3 of the principal Regulations so as to —

(a) enable employers to make additional contributions by Method B in respect of their employees;

(b) remove the option to pay additional contributions by Method C; and

(c) allow part-time employees to pay additional contributions by Method A.

Regulations 9, 10, 20 and 23 make amendments to regulations C16 and D3 of, and Schedules 4 and 7 to, the principal Regulations consequential on the amendments made by regulation 5. The amendments to Schedules 4 and 7 make provision for a person who has elected to pay additional contributions by Method A, or who has spent any part of the contribution period in part-time employment, to be able to discharge the election in full or in part if he leaves pensionable employment.

Regulation 6 amends the definition of “notional salary”in regulation C8 of the principal Regulations.

Regulation 7 amends regulation C10 of the principal Regulations so as to provide that a person who has elected that his employment should not be pensionable is entitled to a refund of contributions if he is not qualified for retirement benefits.

Regulation 8 amends regulation C14 of the principal Regulations so as to provide that a person must return refunded contributions within 10 weeks of electing to do so, but he no longer has to be in pensionable employment on the day the payment is made. Regulation 8 also amends provisions relating to the return of repaid contributions by instalments.

Regulation 11 amends regulation E4(7) of the principal Regulations to provide that a person can be eligible for premature retirement benefits under regulation E4(7) even if at the time his employment is terminated it is part-time employment and he has not elected that it should be pensionable. Regulation 11 also amends provisions governing the date from which infirmity benefits are payable when, at the time he became incapacitated the teacher was in excluded employment or was in part-time employment and had not elected that the employment should be pensionable.

Regulation 12 makes a new provision for commutation of an infirmity pension where there are exceptional circumstances of serious ill health.

Regulation 13 provides that a “person”(an expression which would otherwise include a body of persons) nominated to receive a death grant must be an individual.

Regulations 14 and 15 amend the provisions of regulations E23 and E24 of the principal Regulations relating to the payment of short-term family benefits when the deceased person is survived by a child or children.

Regulations 16 and 17 make provision for interest to be payable on late payment of most benefits.

Regulation 18 amends regulation H1 of the principal Regulations which make special provision for a person who is employed by the same employer at a reduced rate of contributable salary in a different post. An employer will be the same employer if it is a statutory corporation which has become the new employer by virtue of any enactment (not only by virtue of any provision of the Education Acts).

Regulation 19 makes changes to the list of employments specified in Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations.

Regulation 21 amends Schedule 5 to the principal Regulations to enable a person to continue paying additional contributions under the Teachers' Superannuation Regulations 1976 whilst also paying additional contributions under regulation C3 of the principal Regulations.

Regulation 22 amends Schedule 6 to the principal Regulations to enable a woman employed part-time to pay family benefit contributions by instalments.

Regulation 24 provides that a period of employment in comparable British service is “qualifying employment”under Schedule 9 to the principal Regulations.

Regulation 25 amends Part III of Schedule 12 to the principal Regulations to make special provision for inward transfers in cases where a person elected that his employment should not be pensionable before 30th June 1994, subsequently elected to resume pensionable status and the circumstances are such that the Secretary of State is entitled to impose a fee in respect of his resumption of pensionable status.

Regulation 26 makes provision for transitional provisions and regulation 27 makes provision for opting out where rights in relation to ex-employees are adversely affected by these amendments.