The Local Government (Discretionary Payments) (Amendment) Regulations 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Local Government (Discretionary Payments) Regulations 1996 (“the 1996 Regulations”). With the exception of the amendments in regulation 2(c) and (f), the Regulations have effect from 25th July 1996, the date that the 1996 Regulations came into force. (Section 24(3)(c) of the Superannuation Act 1972 provides that they may have retrospective effect.)

Regulation 2(a), (b) and (g) make minor correcting or clarifying amendments.

Regulation 2(c)(i) amends regulation 20(3) of the 1996 Regulations in connection with entitlement to compensation for a surviving spouse of a marriage which took place after the termination of the deceased’s local government employment. The provision that such a surviving spouse is only entitled to compensation if entitled to a surviving spouse’s pension under the Local Government Pension Scheme (or only where he would be so entitled if the deceased had been a member) is retained but provisions affecting the calculation of the surviving spouse’s compensation are removed.

Regulation 2(c)(ii) and (iii) amends regulation 20(4) and (5) of the 1996 Regulations to restrict the limits on entitlement to surviving spouses of persons who ceased employment before 1st April 1998.

Regulation 2(c)(iv) amends regulation 20 of the 1996 Regulations to allow an employing authority to determine that the cessation of entitlement to surviving spouse’s compensation on remarriage or cohabitation shall not apply in any particular case.

Regulation 2(d) amends regulation 31(2) of the 1996 Regulations which provides that the authority which administers the Local Government Pension Scheme fund which is the appropriate fund in respect of the person receiving compensation may pay the compensation on behalf of the employing authority and recover the moneys from that employing authority. The amendment limits the restrictions that—

(i) such an arrangement cannot be made in connection with compensation paid as a lump sum; and

(ii) the amount must be repaid by the employing authority within two months

to payments made from the Local Government Pension Scheme fund.

Paragraphs (e) and (h) of regulation 2 amend the 1996 Regulations to provide that the latest age before which employment must terminate to be eligible for compensation under Part III is, in the case of coroners, 70 not 65.

Regulation 2(f) substitutes a new table in Schedule 1 to the 1996 Regulations for the purposes of calculating the appropriate percentage which, under regulation 12 of the 1996 Regulations, is applied to an amount to calculate a reduction in annual compensation in certain cases where a person also receives a redundancy payment. The changes have been made to take into account changes in actuarial assumptions for factors such as increased life expectancy. The adjustments have the effect of

• reducing the appropriate percentage for men, the change varying from between .22% to .88%, which has the effect of reducing the reduction in the amount of annual compensation, and

• increasing the appropriate percentage for women, the change varying from between .03% to .18%, which has the effect of increasing the reduction in the amount of annual compensation.

Regulation 3 provides the retrospective effect of the amendments cannot operate to anyone’s detriment.