The Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014

Provisional award of ill-health pension

75.—(1) This regulation applies if the scheme medical adviser is unable to form an opinion on the following matters—

(a) whether a member (P) has suffered a permanent breakdown in health involving incapacity for employment or total incapacity for employment;

(b) whether P’s breakdown in health involves—

(i) incapacity for employment; or

(ii) total incapacity for employment.

(2) The scheme medical adviser may recommend that—

(a) for a period specified in the recommendation (being a period of not more than 5 years), P is taken to have suffered a permanent breakdown in health involving whichever of the following is specified in the recommendation—

(i) incapacity for employment; or

(ii) total incapacity for employment; and

(b) P’s case should be reviewed by the scheme medical adviser at the end of the period specified in the recommendation.

(3) If the scheme manager agrees to the recommendation—

(a) the scheme manager must determine if P meets the lower tier payment threshold or the upper tier payment threshold; and

(b) P is entitled to the immediate payment of—

(i) an ill-health pension in accordance with regulation 74; and

(ii) any full retirement added pension payable with it.

(4) At the end of the period specified in the recommendation—

(a) the scheme medical adviser must give the scheme manager an opinion on the matter to which the recommendation related; and

(b) regulation 74 applies to P accordingly, subject to paragraph (5).

(5) If as a result of the opinion P ceases to be entitled to payment of a lower tier earned pension, an upper tier top up earned pension or a full retirement added pension, that pension continues to be payable for a period of 3 months beginning with the date of the opinion.