The Public Service Pensions (Employer Cost Cap and Specified Restricted Scheme) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Regulation 3 of these Regulations amends the Public Service Pensions (Employer Cost Cap) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 to widen the specified margins in which scheme costs must remain, before corrective action is taken to rebalance the costs of the scheme, from 2 percentage points above and below the employer cost cap to 3 percentage points above and below the employer cost cap.

Regulation 4 of these Regulations provides that the New Judicial Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2015 is specified as a restricted scheme for the purposes of section 12A of the Public Service Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 (“the Act”). Section 12A of the Act states that where a scheme is a restricted scheme and is specified for the purposes of that section in Department of Finance regulations then, in respect of that scheme, the requirement in section 11(1) (valuations) of the Act is removed and section 12(1) (employer cost cap) of the Act is disapplied, meaning scheme regulations need not provide for actuarial valuations or the setting of an employer cost cap for the purpose of measuring changes in the cost of that scheme.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.