The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 (“the principal Regulations”) which provide for the superannuation of persons engaged in the National Health Service.

Regulation 1 makes provision about the citation of the Regulations and their commencement and interpretation. Regulation 3 and paragraph 10 of the Schedule, which make provision about the eligibility of locum practitioners (“locums”) to belong to the NHS Pension Scheme, are brought into effect as from 1st April 2001.

Regulation 2 introduces the Schedule which amends the principal Regulations.

Paragraph 1 amends the regulation A2 (general interpretation) so as to introduce various definitions relating to practitioners that are required as a result of the amendments enabling locums to belong to the Scheme.

Paragraph 2 enables service which a member could count in a previous scheme and which has not been credited to the Scheme when the member transferred to it as the result of a transfer of an undertaking, to count as qualifying service. It also enables members employed on a casual basis to continue in qualifying service during short breaks in employment.

Paragraphs 3 to 6 amend Part M (transfers out of the Scheme) so as to entitle members to a transfer payment where they leave after reaching 60 as a result of a transfer of an undertaking, and to enable special terms to be applied where one member so transfers.

Paragraphs 7 to 9 make parallel amendments of Part N (transfers into the Scheme) so as to enable transfer payments to be accepted for members who have reached 60 and payments to be accepted on special terms for a single member.

Paragraph 10 contains amendments of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations (practitioners) most of which are connected with the admission of locums to the Scheme. Sub-paragraphs (2) to (4) add new definitions to the Schedule, including a definition of a “locum practitioner” and “the employing authority” for such practitioners. Sub-paragraph (6) adds a provision setting out the procedure for locums to apply to join the Scheme, including provision enabling applications to be made in relation to employment on and after 1st April 2001. Sub-paragraphs (5), (7) and (8) apply so as to define the earnings that are pensionable for locums, and prevent other practitioners' earnings as locums from being pensionable. Special provision is made by sub-paragraph (10) enabling locums to count as continuing to be in qualifying service during short breaks between engagements. Locums are to pay their contributions to their employing authority and regulations P1 and P2 which give rights in cases of absence from work are disapplied for them.

Regulation 3 contains some transitional provisions connected with retrospective commencement of paragraph 10 of the Schedule which contains amendments relating to the eligibility of locums to belong to the NHS Pension Scheme. It modifies the definition of a “locum practitioner” inserted by that paragraph in two ways. First, doctors who would not fall into the definition can count as locums during the period beginning on 1st April 2001 and ending on 30th December 2002 if they meet one of the conditions in paragraph (b) of the definition immediately after the end of the period. (This is necessary because the supplementary lists referred to in paragraph (b)(i) of the definition were not in place at the beginning of the period, and some practitioners performing piloted services would not have been named as mentioned in paragraph (b)(ii).) Secondly, doctors who would not fall into the definition can count as locums during the period beginning on 1st April 2001 and ending on 30th December 2002 if after performing locum services during that period they become another sort of practitioner, a personal medical services doctor who is treated as an officer, or a hospital doctor, not later than 31st December 2002.

These Regulations do not impose any costs on business.