These Regulations implement changes relating to the Local Government Pension Scheme (“the LGPS (NI)). They do so by modifying certain statutory provisions contained in or made under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 (c. 7), which made changes to the transitional protections for certain persons who were members of previous versions of the LGPS to address unlawful age discrimination of the sort identified in the case of McCloud v Lord Chancellor [2018] EWCA Civ 2844 (“the McCloud Remedy”).

These Regulations are retrospective in effect as provided for under section 3(3)(b) of the Public Service Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

Regulation 2 makes provision about the McCloud Remedy in the context of the annual benefit statements (“ABSs”) that the Scheme Manager, the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (“the Committee”) is required to issue to their active, deferred and pension credit members every year under regulation 99 of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014. Regulation 3 provides that, where regulation 2(2) applies, provisions of the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 and the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023 are disapplied for the purposes of preparing ABSs, meaning that the Committee would not be required to include information about the McCloud Remedy in ABSs. This provision has retrospective effect from 1 October 2023, meaning that it will apply in respect of any ABSs that have issued between that date and these Regulations coming into operation. However, regulations 4(1) and 5 enable the Committee to determine that regulation 2(2) should not apply in respect of a member or class of members. Regulations 4(2) and 6 also allow the Committee to determine that regulation 2(2) should apply, in respect of a member or class of members, to ABSs for the Scheme years 2025/26 and 2026/27.