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The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014

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Pension accountsN.I.

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24.—(1) The Committee shall open and maintain one or more pension accounts for each member of the Scheme.

(2) A separate pension account shall be opened in relation to each employment where a member is or was employed in two or more Scheme employments.

(3) A pension account—

(a)shall contain such matters as are required by these Regulations;

(b)shall identify which one of the following categories of pension account it is—

(i)an active member's pension account;

(ii)a deferred member's pension account;

(iii)a deferred refund account;

(iv)a retirement pension account;

(v)a flexible retirement pension account;

(vi)a pension credit account; or

(vii)a survivor member's pension account,

but subject to that,

(c)may be kept in any form that the Committee considers appropriate.

(4) The Committee shall close a pension account if—

(a)a transfer value payment is made in respect of the member if the effect of the transfer is that the member is no longer entitled to benefits from the account;

(b)a refund of contributions is paid under regulation 20 (rights to return of contributions);

(c)all the benefits in the account are forfeited under regulation 102 (forfeiture of pension rights after conviction for employment-related offences);

(d)the member dies;

(e)the last survivor entitled to a benefit from a survivor member's pension account ceases to be entitled to a benefit from that survivor member's pension account (by reason of death or upon ceasing to be an eligible child); F1...

[F2(f)due to aggregation of benefits in the pension account with a different pension account, it is no longer needed; or

(g)the member’s benefits are commuted under regulation 35 (commutation and small pensions).]

(5) Where a member with an active member's pension account also has a deferred refund account, the benefits in the [F3deferred refund account] shall be aggregated with the active member's pension account and the deferred refund account closed.

(6) Where an active member with concurrent employments ceases an employment and does not have qualifying service for a period of two years, the active member's pension account in respect of that employment shall be closed and the benefits in that active member's pension account shall be aggregated with the ongoing active member's pension account and, if there is more than one such account, the one chosen by the member.

(7) Where an active member with concurrent employments ceases an employment with entitlement to a deferred pension, the benefits in the deferred member's pension account shall be aggregated with those in the ongoing active member's pension account and, if there is more than one such active member's pension account, the one chosen by the member unless—

(a)within twelve months of the date the concurrent employment ceased; or

(b)within such longer period as the employing authority in relation to the ongoing active member's pension account permits,

the member makes an election to the Committee to retain the deferred member's pension account.

[F4(8) Subject to paragraph 8A, where a deferred member again becomes an active member, the member may make an election to aggregate the benefits in the deferred member’s pension account with those in the active member’s pension account within—

(a)twelve months of the active member’s pension account being opened;

(b)twelve months from 1st April 2016; or

(c)such longer period as the employing authority in relation to that active member’s pension account may permit.

(8A) Where a member is entitled to deferred benefits as a consequence of a notice served under regulation 7(2) (ending active membership) and becomes an active member again in the same employment, that member cannot make an election to aggregate benefits from a deferred member’s pension account under paragraph (8).

(8B) But paragraphs (7) and (8) do not apply to a member who is the subject of—

(a)a transfer to which the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (“the TUPE Regulations”) apply; or

(b)a transfer which is treated as if it were a relevant transfer within the meaning of regulations 2(1) and 3 of the TUPE Regulations, notwithstanding regulation 3(5) of those Regulations.]

(9) The member's choice of pension account under paragraphs (6) or (7) shall be made in writing, by the member to the Committee, within twelve months of the closure of the active member's pension account and, in the absence of an election from the member, the Committee may make the determination on the member's behalf.

(10) Where a deferred member's pension account or a deferred refund account is to be aggregated with an active member's pension account, and the gap between the member's last day of membership to which the deferred member's pension account or deferred refund account relates and the first day of active membership to which the active member's pension account relates does not exceed five years, the balance in the deferred member's pension account or deferred refund account shall be recalculated, before aggregation, as if the amount in that account had been increased by the revaluation adjustment and not the index rate adjustment.

Textual Amendments

F1Word in reg. 24(4) deleted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending Rule) by The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/128), regs. 1(1), 9(a)

F3Words in reg. 24(5) substituted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending Rule) by The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/128), regs. 1(1), 9(b)

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