PART 1Membership, contributions and benefits
Contributions
Assumed pensionable pay21
1
During the period the circumstances specified in paragraph (2) apply in relation to an employment, the pensionable pay that an active member is, in relation to that employment, treated as receiving for the purposes of these Regulations (including this regulation), other than regulations 9 to 14 (contributions), is that member's assumed pensionable pay calculated in accordance with paragraph (4).
2
The circumstances are that the member—
a
is on leave due to sickness or injury and is on reduced contractual pay or no pay;
b
is on child-related leave F1other than any part of that leave period where the pensionable pay received is greater than the assumed pensionable pay that the member would otherwise have been treated as receiving for that part of the leave period; or
c
is absent on reserve forces service leave.
3
Paragraph (2)(c) does not apply in respect of any period of service which qualifies the member for benefits under any other occupational pension scheme in respect of that service.
4
F2F6Subject to paragraphs (4A), and (5A) to (5C), the annual rate of assumed pensionable pay for an employment for a Scheme year is—
a
where the member is paid monthly—
i
the pensionable pay the member received relating to that employment in the three months preceding the commencement of the pay period in which the circumstance specified in paragraph (2) began or, for the purposes of F3regulations 39(1)(a) (calculation of ill health pension amounts), 40(3) (death grants: active members), 41(4)(b) (survivor benefits: partners of active members), 42(4)(b), 42(5)(b), 42(9)(b) and 42(10)(b) (survivor benefits: children of active members), the pay period in which, respectively, the ill-health retirement or death occurred;
ii
less any lump sum received during that period;
iii
with the resulting sum being grossed up to an annual figure;
iv
to which any regular lump sum payment received in the 12 months preceding the date specified in paragraph (i) should be added;
b
where the member is paid otherwise than monthly—
i
the pensionable pay the member received relating to that employment in the 12 weeks preceding the commencement of the pay period in which the circumstance specified in paragraph (2) began or, for the purposes of F4regulations 39(1)(a) (calculation of ill health pension amounts), 40(3) (death grants: active members), 41(4)(b) (survivor benefits: partners of active members), 42(4)(b), 42(5)(b), 42(9)(b) and 42(10)(b) (survivor benefits: children of active members), the pay period in which, respectively, the ill-health retirement or death occurred;
ii
less any lump sum received;
iii
with the resulting sum being grossed up to an annual figure;
iv
to which any regular lump sum payment received in the 12 months preceding the date specified in paragraph (i) should be added.
F54A
If the pensionable pay the member received in the periods specified in paragraph (4)(a)(i) or (4)(b)(i) was reduced as a result of absence due to a trade dispute or absence with permission from the member’s Scheme employer, such reduction is to be ignored for the purposes of calculating the member’s assumed pensionable pay.
5
For the purposes of paragraph (4) a “regular lump sum” is a payment for which the member's employer determines there is a reasonable expectation that such a payment would be paid on a regular basis.
F75A
Where the pensionable pay received by a member during any period specified in paragraph (4)(a)(i) or (4)(b)(i) was, in the opinion of the Scheme employer, materially lower than the level of pensionable pay that member normally received, for the purposes of this regulation the Scheme employer may substitute for the pensionable pay the member received, a higher level of pensionable pay to reflect the level of pensionable pay that the member would normally have received.
5B
In determining what the level of pensionable pay a member normally receives for the purposes of paragraph (5A) a Scheme employer must have regard to the level of pensionable pay received by the member in the previous 12 months.
5C
Where any pensionable pay that has been received by a member includes fees of the kind listed in regulation 20(2)(j)(i) to (iv) (returning officer fees), for the purposes of paragraph (4)(a)(i) or (4)(b)(i) the annual rate of pensionable pay in respect of the fees in that employment that the member received is the annual average of the pensionable pay relating to those fees during the three years preceding the date the absence, the ill-health retirement or death occurred, or during the membership in that employment if less than three years.
6
The assumed pensionable pay that a member is treated as receiving is adjusted by the revaluation adjustment on the first day of the second Scheme year which commenced after the first date on which the member is treated as receiving assumed pensionable pay.