(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations contain amendments to the Local Government Pension Scheme (Benefits, Membership and Contributions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (the Benefits Regulations) and the Local Government Pension Scheme (Administration) Regulations (NI) 2009 (the Administration Regulations) which came into operation on 1st April 2009. The Benefits Regulations and Administration Regulations form part of the regulatory framework governing the Local Government Pension Scheme in Northern Ireland (the Scheme).
The Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee (the Committee) administers the Scheme.
Article 14 of the Superannuation Order (NI) 1972 confers express powers to make regulations retrospective in effect. These Regulations are retrospective.
Regulation 2 introduces the amendments set out in regulations 3 to 16 relating to the Benefits Regulations.
Regulation 3 precludes the possibility of members making contributions from the day before their 75th birthday.
Regulation 4 amends the meaning of “pensionable pay” by excluding any award of compensation for the purposes of achieving equal pay in relation to other employees, whilst ensuring that any arrears of pay remain within the definition of “pensionable pay”.
Regulation 5 inserts a cross reference to regulation 11 (periods of membership) of the Administration Regulations into regulation 6 (periods of membership) of the Benefits Regulations.
Regulation 6 amends regulation 7 (calculation of length of periods of membership) to ensure that when determining whether a part-time member has total membership of at least three months, entitling the member to benefit, the calendar period should be used and not pro-rata time.
Regulation 7 amends regulation 10 (final pay: reductions) to give the Committee the discretion to give notice on behalf of a deceased member who meets the qualifying conditions, to have the member's final pay calculated in accordance with this regulation, whether or not the period of notice has expired. The regulation has also been amended to clarify that this regulation does not apply to a member who has opted to take flexible retirement under regulation 18.
Regulation 8 amends regulation 17 (retirement after normal retirement age) to make it clear that a member who joins the Scheme after age 65 is entitled to a pension.
Regulation 9 amends regulation 18 (flexible retirement) to clarify that benefits taken after age 65 are actuarially enhanced.
Regulation 10 amends regulation 20 (early leavers: ill-health) to clarify that the independent medical practitioner assesses the member's ability to undertake gainful work. The transitional protection for a person who was a member before 1st April 2009 and was aged 45 (or more) before that date only applies to member with continuous membership before 1st April 2009.
Regulation 11 amends regulation 23 (death grants: active members) to disregard the reduction in final pay, where a member was in part-time employment as a result of a medical condition and that condition subsequently leads to the death of the member, in the calculation of the death grant.
Regulation 12 amends regulation 24 (survivor benefits: active members) to clarify the provisions under which a survivor's pension is calculated and ensures that any reduction in final pay because a member was in part-time employment as a result of a medical condition and that condition subsequently leads to the death of the member, is ignored in the calculation of survivor benefits.
Regulation 13 amends regulation 29 (calculation on leaving early) to make it clear that early leavers cannot choose to take part of their deferred benefits at age 65.
Regulation 14 amends regulation 31 (early payment of pension: ill-health) to clarify that the independent medical practitioner assesses the deferred member's ability to undertake gainful work.
Regulation 15 amends regulation 39 (commutation: small pensions) to include a flexibility under section 164(1)(f) of the Finance Act 2004 which enables the commutation of benefits not in excess of £2,000 in one scheme. This brings the Benefits Regulations into line with the Registered Pension Schemes (Authorised Payments) Regulations 2009.
Regulation 16 amends paragraph (6) of the Schedule (councillor members) which sets out the ill-health provisions for councillor members, to make it clear that the original policy intention was that the independent registered medical practitioner assesses the councillor's ability to undertake any gainful employment.
Regulation 17 introduces amendments set out in regulations 18 to 21 relating to the Administration Regulations.
Regulation 18 amends regulation 11 (periods of membership) to ensure the continued protection of classroom assistants' pensions, where a member decides to aggregate a period or periods of protected membership with another period of membership or where a member has concurrent employments and is a member of the Scheme in both employments, if one employment ends and the member decides to join the periods or periods of protected membership from the terminated employment with the period of membership in the current employment.
Regulation 19 amends regulation 13 (concurrent employments) to enable members, subject to certain conditions, to aggregate periods of membership in concurrent employments.
Regulation 20 amends regulation 22 (use of accumulated value of Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) and Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contributions (SCAVCs)) to include two new paragraphs. The first of which will give the Committee the discretion to pay the accumulated value to a member's personal representatives in the event of his or her death. This discretion was included in the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (NI) 2002 but was not carried forward to the current Administration Regulations. The second new paragraph will require the Committee to make the payment of the total accumulated value within two years of the member's death, to his or her personal representatives.
Regulation 21 inserts a new regulation, regulation 47A (payments for persons incapable of managing their affairs) enables the Committee to determine how and to whom benefits may be paid for the benefit of a person who is incapable of managing their own affairs.
A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as it has a negligible impact on the cost of businesses, charities, social economy enterprises or the voluntary sector and does not have a significant financial impact on public bodies.