The Superannuation (Public Offices) Rules 1967

PART I RETIREMENT AFTER SERVICE IN MORE THAN ONE PUBLIC OFFICE

Application of Part I

1.—(1) This Part of these Rules shall apply to any person who—

(a) has been continuously employed in more than one public office; and

(b) on or after retiring from the last public office in which he was continuously employed, or from other employment approved for the purposes of the superannuation scheme applicable to such last public office, or from employment, during such a period as is described in paragraph (3)(ii) of this Rule, in an office which has ceased to be a public office, becomes eligible for a retiring award under that superannuation scheme, or would be so eligible if he had served in such last public office for the minimum period qualifying him for a retiring award under that superannuation scheme.

(2) In this Part of these Rules a person to whom this Part of these Rules applies is referred to as an “officer”.

(3) For the purposes of these Rules, a person shall be deemed to have been continuously employed in two public offices, notwithstanding that he has not been directly transferred from the first public office to the second, if—

(a) where he was employed in the first public office in a pensionable capacity, he became employed in the second public office within 31 days of ceasing to be employed in the first, or within such longer period as the rules governing the superannuation scheme applicable to the second public office may allow in his case; and

(b) where he was employed in a non-pensionable capacity in the first public office, he became employed in the second within such period that, if his service in that first public office had been rendered in a non-pensionable capacity in the second public office, that service would, under the superannuation scheme applicable to the second public office, have been reckoned as to the whole or any part thereof for the purpose of the award of a pension or gratuity under that scheme;

and in determining whether a person has been continuously employed in two public offices in accordance with this paragraph no account shall be taken of—

(i) any period after he ceases to be employed in the first public office and before he becomes employed in the second public office during which he is serving in other employment approved for the purposes of the superannuation scheme applicable to the first public office; or

(ii) in a case where the first public office has ceased to be a public office, any period during which he has continued to be employed in that office on its so ceasing and which is a period of employment approved by the Treasury for the purposes of these Rules.

Similar and dissimilar public offices

2.—(1) Where the public offices in which an officer has been continuously employed include two or more similar public offices, the provisions of Rules 3 and 4 of these Rules shall apply in relation to the retiring award which may be made in respect of his service in those public offices; and where the public offices in which such an officer has been continuously employed include, in addition to such similar public offices, one or more dissimilar public offices, Rule 5 of these Rules shall apply in relation to the retiring award which may be made in respect of his service in each of such dissimilar public offices.

(2) Where the public offices in which an officer has been continuously employed do not include two or more similar public offices, Rule 5 of these Rules shall apply in relation to the retiring award which may be made in respect of his service in each of the public offices in which he has been employed.

(3) For the purposes of these Rules, any two or more public offices in which a person has been employed shall be deemed to be similar public offices if the superannuation schemes to which he was subject while employed in those public offices are, in the opinion of the Treasury, so similar that it is practicable and expedient to make a single aggregated award in respect of such of his service as is reckonable for the purposes of those schemes; and any other public office in which he has been employed shall be deemed to be a dissimilar public office.

Single aggregated retiring award

3.—(1) In respect of an officer's service in any two or more similar public offices, a single retiring award may be made to him in accordance with the provisions of this Rule.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Rule, the award shall be calculated by reference to the aggregate of the periods of service which the officer was entitled to reckon for the purposes of each of the superannuation schemes applicable to his similar public offices, but any service in respect of which he has already been granted any superannuation benefits, or in respect of which he has received a return of contributions which have not been refunded, shall not be taken into account for the purposes of this Rule.

(3) Where—

(a) an officer has been employed in two similar public offices, and his service in the first of those public offices was non-pensionable service and his service in the second was pensionable service; and

(b) the rules of the superannuation scheme applicable to the first public office were such that if he had subsequently rendered pensionable service in that public office his non-pensionable service therein would have been reckoned as to the whole or any part thereof for the purpose of the award of superannuation benefits under that scheme;

then such period of his non-pensionable service as would have been reckoned as aforesaid shall be reckoned as part of his aggregate service for the purpose of this Rule.

(4) Where the officer did not serve in a pensionable capacity in the last public office in which he was employed, he shall not be eligible for a pension or gratuity in respect of any previous service in a pensionable capacity in any public office.

(5) Where an officer who has been employed in two or more similar public offices retires on a medical certificate from employment in one of those public offices in such circumstances that under the superannuation scheme applicable to that public office his reckonable service, if it were equal to his total reckonable service in similar and dissimilar public offices, would be treated as being increased to a specified period, there may be granted to him in respect of his aggregate service in the similar public offices in which he has been employed such retiring award as might have been granted to him if his aggregate reckonable service in those similar public offices, when added to his aggregate reckonable service in any other public offices in which he has been employed, had been that specified period.

(6) Subject to the provisions of this Rule in relation to the reckoning of an officer's aggregate service, his retiring award shall be calculated in accordance with the superannuation scheme applicable to the last similar public office in which he was employed and on his emoluments in that public office:

Provided that if that superannuation scheme requires the retiring award to be calculated on an average of the emoluments of his office during a certain period, and if the officer has not been employed for the whole of such period in the last similar public office in which he was employed, his retiring award shall be calculated on the average of his emoluments during a similar period in which he last served in that public office and in any other similar public office.

(7) An officer who is granted a retiring award under this Rule in respect of any service in a public office shall not be eligible for any retiring award in respect of that service under the superannuation scheme applicable to that public office.

Apportionment of cost of award

4.—(1) The cost of any retiring award made to an officer under the last preceding Rule shall be apportioned between the superannuation schemes applicable to the several similar public offices in which he has been employed and for the purpose of such apportionment a calculation shall be made, in accordance with the provisions of this Rule, of the award (hereafter in this Rule referred to as a “hypothetical award”) which would have been made to the officer if he had retired on the ground of ill-health at the date when he ceased to be employed in each such similar public office except the last, such calculation being based on his aggregate service in similar public offices up to that date and the emoluments which he received at that date.

(2) The officer's service shall be reckoned as nearly as may be in accordance with the provisions of the Superannuation Act 1965, but otherwise a hypothetical award shall, subject to the provisions of this Rule, be calculated in accordance with the rules in force at the date of the officer's final retirement of the superannuation scheme applicable to the public office from which he is assumed to have retired.

(3) Where the officer was serving in a non-pensionable capacity in one public office at the date when he ceased to be employed in it, and he subsequently served in a pensionable capacity in another public office, and the whole or part of his non-pensionable service falls to be treated as part of his aggregate service for the purpose of the grant of a pension under the last preceding Rule, the hypothetical award in respect of the first public office shall be calculated as if he had been rendering pensionable service in that public office at the date when he ceased to be employed in it.

(4) If the number of years of an officer's aggregate service in public offices qualifies him for a pension as distinguished from a gratuity under the rules of the superannuation scheme applicable to the last similar public office in which he was employed, then the pension shall be apportioned between the superannuation schemes applicable to the several similar public offices in which he was employed as though the period served in each such public office had qualified him for a pension as distinguished from a gratuity.

(5) The amount to be contributed by each of the superannuation schemes applicable to the similar public offices in which the officer has been employed shall be as follows:—

(a) in the case of the first such public office, the amount of the hypothetical award calculated in relation to the date on which he ceased to be employed in that public office;

(b) in the case of any subsequent similar public office, except the last, the difference between the hypothetical award calculated in relation to the date on which he ceased to be employed in that public office and the hypothetical award calculated in relation to the date on which he ceased to be employed in the last preceding similar public office; and

(c) in the case of the last similar public office, the difference between the total award and the hypothetical award calculated in relation to the date on which he ceased to be employed in the last preceding similar public office.

(6) The amount to be contributed by each of the superannuation schemes applicable to the similar public offices in which the officer has been employed except the last shall be payable by the authority administering each of such superannuation schemes to the authority administering the superannuation scheme applicable to the last similar public office, and the total award shall be payable to the officer by the authority administering the superannuation scheme applicable to the last similar public office in which he was employed.

Separate retiring awards

5.—(1) In respect of an officer's service in any dissimilar public office, a separate retiring award may be made to him in accordance with the provisions of this Rule.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Rule, such retiring award may be made to the officer under this Rule by the authority administering the superannuation scheme applicable to the public office as might have been made to him under that superannuation scheme if he had retired from employment in the public office on the ground of ill-health, such award being calculated by reference to his service in the public office:

Provided that—

(a) any service in respect of which the officer has already been granted any superannuation benefits, or in respect of which he has received a return of contributions which have not been refunded, shall not be reckoned for the purpose of this Rule; and

(b) where the officer did not serve in a pensionable capacity in the last public office in which he was employed, he shall not be eligible for a pension or gratuity in respect of any previous service in a pensionable capacity in any public office.

(3) Any period of service which, under the superannuation scheme applicable to any public office in which the officer has been employed before becoming employed in a dissimilar public office, would have been treated as counting towards any minimum period of qualifying service required by that superannuation scheme may, for the purpose only of counting towards any minimum period of qualifying service required by the superannuation scheme applicable to the dissimilar public office, be treated as service in that dissimilar public office.

(4) If the number of years of an officer's aggregate service in public offices qualifies him for a pension as distinguished from a gratuity under the rules of the superannuation scheme applicable to the last public office in which he was employed before he retired, then he may be granted a pension as distinguished from a gratuity by the authority administering the superannuation scheme applicable to any dissimilar public office in which he has been employed.

(5) Where—

(a) by virtue of paragraph (3) or (4) of this Rule, for the purpose of a retiring award in respect of an officer's service in a dissimilar public office, any service in another public office is treated as qualifying him for an award in respect of a period of reckonable service which is less than the qualifying period prescribed by the superannuation scheme applicable to that dissimilar public office; and

(b) that superannuation scheme does not prescribe the amount of any retiring award in respect of such a period of reckonable service;

an award may be made of an amount which bears the same proportion to the amount of the award prescribed for the minimum period of service provided for in that superannuation scheme as the period of the officer's reckonable service under that superannuation scheme bears to such minimum period of service.

(6) Where an officer retires on a medical certificate from employment in a dissimilar public office in such circumstances that under the superannuation scheme applicable to that public office his reckonable service, if it were equal to his total reckonable service in similar and dissimilar public offices, would be treated as being increased to a specified period, there may be granted to him by the authority administering that superannuation scheme such retiring award as might have been granted to him if his reckonable service in that public office, when added to his aggregate reckonable service in all other public offices in which he has been employed, had been that specified period.

Reduction of retiring age where service has been in certain places abroad

6.  Where—

(a) in the last public office in which he was employed a person was subject to the Superannuation Act 1965 or to a superannuation scheme containing a provision corresponding to section 25 of that Act; and

(b) any part of his service in a public office which is reckonable for the purpose of a retiring award under this Part of these Rules was service in a country or place to which the said section 25 for the time being applied,

subsection (3) of the said section 25 or the provision corresponding to it shall have effect in relation to that part of his service as if it were service in the last public office in which he was employed.