These Regulations further amend the Health and Personal Social Services (Superannuation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (S.R. 1995 No. 95), “the principal Regulations”, which provide for the superannuation of persons engaged in Health and Personal Social Services.

The Regulations shall have retrospective effect as authorised by Article 14(1) of the Superannuation (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.

Regulations 1 and 2 provide for the citation, commencement, retrospective effect and interpretation of the Regulations.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 3 (Meaning of superannuable pay), and regulation 6 amends regulation 52 (Early leavers returning to superannuable employment), of the principal Regulations ensuring that a member’s contributions and benefits reflect the situation where that member is subject to an earnings cap following a break in superannuable employment.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 22 of the principal Regulations (Payment of lump sum) ensuring that lump sums, which would otherwise be payable to persons whose right to the lumps sum has been forfeited because they have been convicted of the unlawful killing of the member, shall be payable to the personal representatives of the member.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 49 (Preserved pension), and regulation 8 amends regulation 85 (Reduction of pension on return to HPSS employment), of the principal Regulations to provide that both preserved benefits are paid and that a pension is not abated where a member returns to employment with an employing authority by virtue of a transfer of an undertaking to that authority.

Regulation 7 amends regulation 65 of the principal Regulations (Members absent from work) to provide that periods of adoption and paternity leave count as superannuable service under the scheme.

Regulation 9 amends regulation 93 of the principal Regulations (Loss of rights to benefits) to provide forfeiture of scheme benefits to persons other than a member where the beneficiary has been convicted of the unlawful killing of the member.

Regulation 10 amends Schedule 2 of the principal Regulations (Medical and dental practitioners) to provide more choice for practitioners with mixed patterns of officer and practitioner service to have their benefits under the scheme calculated in the way most beneficial to them and in particular to enable them to have separate pensions in respect of periods of officer and practitioner service.