The Health and Social Care Pension Schemes (Remediable Service) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023

Treatment of additional contributions made under the 2015 scheme: immediate choice members and deceased members

21.—(1) This regulation applies to or in respect of a remedy member—

(a) who has pensionable service under the legacy scheme by virtue of section 2(1) of PSPJOA 2022;

(b) who—

(i) is a relevant immediate choice member on 1st October 2023, or

(ii) is a member who died before that date.

(c) where, during the remedy period, one or both of the following occurred—

(i) the member’s additional pension account was credited with an amount of additional pension in accordance with 2015 regulation 61;

(ii) the member paid contributions in respect of an additional pension election in accordance with 2015 regulation 63.

(2) Where this regulation applies—

(a) all the remedy member’s rights secured by the credit or payment of contributions mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) are extinguished;

(b) as soon as reasonably practicable, the scheme manager must—

(i) treat the contributions (other than any relevant contributions) as if they had been paid in the relevant scheme year in which they were paid under a corresponding option exercised under the 1995 Regulations or the 2008 Regulations, and

(ii) pay to the remedy member or, if the member is deceased, to the member’s personal representatives an amount of compensation calculated in accordance with paragraph (4) in respect of any relevant contributions;

(c) from (and including) 1st October 2023 until the date on which the scheme manager completes the steps set out in sub-paragraph (b), any additional benefits paid to or in respect of the remedy member in relation to that credit or election must be paid from the relevant section of the legacy scheme; and

(d) paragraph (3) applies to a remedy member in respect of whom an immediate choice election has been accepted by the scheme manager or treated by the scheme manager as having been made in accordance with regulation 9.

(3) The scheme manager must, after having regard to the advice of the scheme actuary, vary the member’s rights to the additional benefits purchased by contributions paid under the corresponding options referred to in paragraph (2)(b) so that those rights are of an equivalent value to the additional pension rights the member would have secured if the contributions had been made in the relevant scheme year in which they were paid—

(a) in respect of an election under 2015 regulation 61, where paragraph (1)(c)(i) applies to or in respect of the member, and

(b) in respect of an election under 2015 regulation 63, where paragraph (1)(c)(ii) applies to or in respect of the member.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b)(ii), the amount of compensation must be equal to the relevant contributions paid by the member reduced by tax relief amounts calculated in accordance with paragraphs (5) to (8) of direction 5 of the 2023 Directions and, if relevant, paragraphs (11) and (12) of that direction.

(5) In this regulation—

“relevant immediate choice member” means an immediate choice member other than a member entitled to a partial retirement pension under regulation 85 of the 2015 Regulations (effect of the election) where the member did not also become entitled to the immediate payment of additional pension under paragraph (2)(c) of that regulation at the same time as the member became entitled to the partial retirement pension;

“relevant section of the legacy scheme” means—

(a)

the 1995 Section if, pursuant to section 2(1) of PSPJOA 2022, the remedy member’s remediable service is treated as being pensionable service under the 1995 Regulations, or

(b)

the 2008 Section if, pursuant to section 2(1) of PSPJOA 2022, the remedy member’s remediable service is treated as being pensionable service under the 2008 Regulations.

(6) For the purposes of this regulation, the reference to “£5,000” in paragraph (7) of 1995 regulation 73A, 2008 regulation 34 and 2008 regulation 165 is to be read as if it were a reference to “£12,079”.