The National Health Service Pension Scheme and Provision of Information and Administrative Expenses etc. (Amendment) Regulations 1997

Amendment of Part N of the Pension Scheme Regulations

6.—(1) At the beginning of regulation N1(3) of the Pension Scheme Regulations the word “The” shall be deleted and there shall be substituted the following words—

• “Except in the case of a person to whom regulation B5 applies, the”.

(2) In regulation N1(4) of the Pension Scheme Regulations the words from “and N3” to the end shall be deleted and there shall be substituted the following words—

• “, N3 (transfers that are not made under the Public Sector Transfer Arrangements) and N3A (transfers in respect of members to whom regulation B5 applies who elect to join or rejoin the scheme) is applicable.”.

(3) After regulation N3 of the Pension Scheme Regulations there shall be inserted the following regulation—

“Transfers in respect of members to whom regulation B5 applies who elect to join or rejoin the scheme

N3A.— (1) In the case of a member to whom regulation B5 applies, this regulation shall apply for the purpose of calculating the amount of the transfer payment by reference to which an additional period of pensionable service may be credited by the Secretary of State to that member.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the transfer payment in respect of which an additional period of pensionable service may be credited by the Secretary of State to a member referred to in paragraph (1) shall be calculated in a manner that is consistent with the actuarial methods and assumptions used by the Secretary of State to calculate cash equivalents under regulation M3 (amount of member’s cash equivalent) in the case of transfers that are not made under the Public Sector Transfer Arrangements and shall be of an amount equal to the total amount of—

(i) an amount which would enable the member to be credited by the scheme with such additional period of pensionable service as the Secretary of State may approve in respect of the period during which he made contributions to a personal pension scheme (“the relevant scheme”);

(ii) the amount of the cash equivalent, if any, which the member transferred to the relevant scheme by exercising a right under regulation M2 (exercising a right to transfer or buy-out) (“the transferred rights”); and

(iii) an amount, to be determined from time to time by the Government Actuary, which represents the income which would have been received on the amount referred to in sub-paragraph (ii) had that amount been invested during the period commencing at the end of the month in which it was paid by the scheme to the relevant scheme and ending at the end of the month in which the transfer payment was paid to the scheme by the relevant scheme.

(3) The amount, if any, payable by virtue of paragraphs (2)(ii) and (iii) shall be at least equal to the amount of the cash equivalent transfer value which would be payable by the scheme in respect of the transferred-out service if the scheme were to pay a cash equivalent transfer value in respect of that service immediately after the time at which the transfer payment is paid to the scheme by the relevant scheme.

(4) In the case of a member to whom regulation B5 applies who has been credited with an additional period of pensionable service calculated as specified in regulation N3 (transfers that are not made under the Public Sector Transfer Arrangements), the Secretary of State may adjust the amount of the transfer payment referred to in paragraph (2) on account of the payment by reference to which that pensionable service was credited.

(5) In this regulation—

“personal pension scheme” has the same meaning as in regulation B5(4);

“transfer payment” means the payment payable to the scheme by the relevant scheme in respect of a member to whom regulation B5 applies who elects to join or rejoin the scheme; and

“transferred-out service” means the period of pensionable service which the member transferred out of the scheme by exercising a right under regulation M2 (exercising a right to transfer or buy-out).”.