The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010

Election to receive phased retirement benefits

57.—(1) This paragraph applies to a person (P) if—

(a) P is qualified for retirement benefits or qualified for retirement benefits following further employment,

(b) P is 55 or over and under 75, and

(c) P satisfies Condition 1 or Condition 2.

(2) Condition 1 is that—

(a) P is in pensionable or excluded employment, and

(b) there is a reduction in P’s contributable salary in that employment (“the reduced salary”) such that the annual rate of the reduced salary does not exceed 80% of the average annual rate of P’s contributable salary during the 6 months before the reduction.

(3) For the purpose of calculating the annual rate of the reduced salary, any standard increase taking effect on the day when P’s employment at the new contributable salary starts must be ignored.

(4) Condition 2 is that—

(a) after reaching the age of 55, P ceases to be in pensionable or excluded employment (“the previous employment”),

(b) within 6 months of the last day of the previous employment, P enters employment in a capacity mentioned in Schedule 2 or an employment which falls within paragraph (5) (“the new employment”), and

(c) the annual rate of P’s contributable salary in the new employment does not exceed 80% of the average annual rate of P’s contributable salary during the last 6 months of the previous employment.

(5) An employment falls within this paragraph if—

(a) P is employed by a person whose employment of P as a teacher would be employment in a capacity mentioned in Schedule 2,

(b) P’s normal duties in the employment include providing education or services ancillary to education other than administrative services, and

(c) where P is employed by a function provider, P’s duties relate to the functions or services in respect of which the function provider is accepted in accordance with regulation 14.

(6) For the purpose of calculating the annual rate of P’s contributable salary in the new employment, any standard increase taking effect after the last day of the previous employment must be ignored.

(7) A person (P) to whom paragraph (1) applies may elect to receive phased retirement benefits by giving written notice to the Secretary of State within 3 months after the relevant date.

(8) An election under paragraph (7) may not be made—

(a) on more than two occasions, or

(b) if P makes an application under regulation 107 (payment of benefits on application to Secretary of State) for retirement benefits.

(9) The relevant date is—

(a) where P satisfies Condition 1, the date on which the reduction in contributable salary takes effect, or

(b) where P satisfies Condition 2, the date on which P enters the new employment.

(10) The notice must be accompanied by—

(a) where P satisfies Condition 1, a certificate by P’s employer as to the matters mentioned in paragraph (2)(b), or

(b) where P satisfies Condition 2, a certificate by P’s employer in the new employment as to the matters mentioned in paragraph (4)(c).

(11) But if P’s employer in the previous employment does not provide P’s employer in the new employment with the information necessary to provide the certificate, the Secretary of State may determine that paragraph (10)(b) is not to apply.

(12) The notice must specify—

(a) a fraction, not exceeding 0.75, of P’s NPA 60 reckonable service, and

(b) a fraction, not exceeding 0.75, of P’s NPA 65 reckonable service.

(13) In this regulation—

(a) a reference to a person’s contributable salary includes, in the case of a person who is in employment other than pensionable employment, a reference to the salary which would be the person’s contributable salary if that employment were pensionable employment;

(b) “standard increase” means an increase in contributable salary which is applied generally to persons in the position of the employee in question in accordance with an order made under section 122 of EA 2002 or, where the employee is not a school teacher for the purposes of that section, by the employer;

(c) where—

(i) ill-health retirement benefits were payable to P under regulation E8 of TPR 1997, and

(ii) P subsequently re-enters pensionable employment

P’s reckonable service excludes any increase in reckonable service under regulation E8(2) to (6) of TPR 1997 arising from the payment of those ill health retirement benefits.