The Health and Social Care Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

Terms of employment improve after election

85.—(1) This regulation applies if—

(a) a member (M) has made an election under regulation 83(3);

(b) during the period of 12 months beginning with the day following election day the terms on which M holds the employment (or employments) mentioned in regulation 83(1)(b) change again; and

(c) as a result M is subject to a relevant increase.

(2) In paragraph (1) M is subject to a relevant increase if—

(a) where M is neither a practitioner nor a non-GP provider, M’s pensionable earnings in the employment (or employments) is increased to more than 90% of M’s pensionable earnings during the period of 12 months ending with the election day;

(b) where M is a practitioner or a non-GP provider, the level of M’s engagement in the employment is increased to more than 90% of M’s pre-change level.

(3) The amount of M’s pension mentioned in regulation 84(2) is abated to zero from the first pension day following the day on which the relevant increment occurred.

(4) If, during the period of 12 months beginning with the day following election day, M enters further employment in which M is an active member—

(a) the terms on which M holds the employment in respect of which the election was made (the election employment) are treated as having changed again; and

(b) for the purpose of determining whether M is subject to a relevant increase—

(i) where M is a practitioner or a non-GP provider, M’s level of engagement in the further employment is treated as engagement in the election employment; and

(ii) where M is neither a practitioner nor a non-GP provider, M’s pensionable earnings in the further employment are treated as pensionable earnings from the election employment

(5) Paragraph (3) does not apply if—

(a) the only change to M’s terms as mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) is to M’s pensionable earnings;

(b) the scheme manager thinks that the annual rate of M’s pensionable earnings at the time of the change would have exceeded the annual rate mentioned in paragraph (2)(a).

(6) If M was not an active member during the whole of the period of 12 months mentioned in paragraph (1)(b), that paragraph applies as if M’s pensionable earnings during that period were—

where—

• PE is M’s pensionable earnings for the part of that period during which M was an active member; and

• N is the number of days in the period on which M was an active member.

(7) In paragraph (2)(b), the pre-change level is the level of M’s engagement in the employment during the period of 12 months ending on the election day.