4.—(1) For the purposes of this Schedule, a member satisfies the 85 year rule if the sum of—
(a)the member’s age in whole years on the date the request is made under paragraph 1;
(b)the member’s total membership in whole years;
(c)in a case where the request is made after the member’s local government employment ends, the period beginning with the end of that employment and ending with the date the request is made; and
(d)in the case of a person who was a member of the 1995 Scheme immediately before 1st April 1998, any qualifying period counted by virtue of regulation 123 of the 1997 Regulations (rights as to service not matched by credited period) which was awarded before 1st April 2008,
is 85 years or more.
(2) In calculating the member’s total membership—
(a)the periods of membership taken into account are—
(i)the total membership the member accrued under the Earlier Schemes which counts as membership in relation to the employment in respect of which the member has made a request to receive immediate payment of retirement benefits under paragraph 1, plus
(ii)the period during which the member paid, or is treated as having paid, contributions under regulations 9 or 10 of the 2013 Regulations (contributions and temporary reduction in contributions), plus
(iii)any period after 31st March 2014 of unpaid absence due to industrial action, or absence from work with permission with no pensionable pay otherwise than because of illness or injury, child related leave or reserve forces service leave, if contributions have been paid under regulation 16 of the 2013 Regulations (additional pension contributions) to cover that period, and
(b)no account is to be taken of—
(i)any increase in membership awarded under regulations 12 (power of employing authority to increase total membership of active members) or 12B (conversion of periods under Discretionary Compensation Regulations etc into membership)(1) of the Benefits Regulations,
(ii)any membership credited after 1st October 2012 under regulation 84 (right to count credited period) of the Administration Regulations or regulation 9 of these Regulations (transfers),
(iii)any membership credited under regulation 40A (Water Act company pensions: Environment Agency payments)(2) of the Administration Regulations, or
(iv)subject to paragraph 5, any period on or after the date specified in regulation 32(4) of the 2013 Regulations (commencement of pensions following flexible retirement) or the date benefits became payable under regulations 18(3) or 18A(4) of the Benefits Regulations or regulation 35(1A) of the 1997(5) Regulations (retirement benefits: flexible retirement).
Regulation 12B was inserted by S.I. 2009/3150.
Regulation 40A was inserted by S.I. 2009/3150.
Regulation 18 has been amended by S.I. 2008/1083, 2010/1990 and 2012/1989.
Regulation 18A was inserted by S.I. 2010/528.
Regulation 35(1A) was inserted by S.I. 2006/966 and was amended by S.I. 2006/2008; it was revoked, with savings, by S.I. 2008238.