Local Government Pension Scheme (Administration) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

1. Introductory Text

2. PART 1 PRELIMINARY

   1. 1. Citation and commencement

   2. 2. Interpretation

3. PART 2 MEMBERSHIP OF SCHEME

   1. 3. General eligibility for membership

   2. 3A. Eligibility of councillors

   3. 4. Employees of community admission bodies

   4. 5. Employees of transferee admission bodies

   5. 6. Admission agreements – further provisions

   6. 7. Separate employments, etc.

   7. 8. Further restrictions on eligibility

   8. 9. Joining the Scheme

   9. 10. Ending of membership

   10. 11. Periods of membership

   11. 12. Re-employed and rejoining deferred members

   12. 13. Concurrent employments

4. PART 3 CONTRIBUTIONS

   1. 14. Contributions during child-related leave

   2. 15. Contributions during reserve forces service leave

   3. 16. Contributions during trade dispute absence

   4. 17. Contributions during absences with permission

   5. 18. Applications to make absence contributions

   6. 19. Payment of additional regular contributions (ARCs)

   7. 20. Discontinuance of ARCs

   8. 20A. Payment of additional contributions: survivor benefits (ASBCs)

   9. 20B. Discontinuance of ASBCs

   10. 21. Additional voluntary contributions and shared cost additional voluntary contributions

   11. 22. Use of accumulated value of AVCs and SCAVCs

   12. 23. Separate treatment of AVCs and SCAVCs from other contributions

   13. 24. Cost of calculations of additional pension where no notification given under regulation 22(4)

5. PART 4 PENSION FUND AND EMPLOYERS’ PAYMENTS

   1. 25. Administration and management

   2. 26. The fund

   3. 27. Governance policy statement

   4. 28. Admission agreement funds

   5. 29. Accounts and audit

   6. 30. Funding strategy statement

   7. 31. Actuarial valuations and certificates

   8. 32. Supply of copies of valuations, certificates, etc.

   9. 33. Special circumstances where revised actuarial valuations and certificates must be obtained

   10. 33A. Apportionment of liabilities

   11. 34. Contributing body’s contributions

   12. 35. Employer’s payment following resolution to increase membership or award additional pension

   13. 36. Employer’s further payments

   14. 37. Payments by employing authorities to the Committee

   15. 38. Additional costs arising from employing authority’s level of performance

   16. 39. Interest

   17. 40. Deduction and recovery of a member’s contributions

   18. 41. Rights to return of contributions

   19. 42. Exclusion of rights to return of contributions

6. PART 5 PAYMENT OF BENEFITS, ETC.

   1. 43. Pension increases under the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993

   2. 44. Contributions equivalent premiums

   3. 45. Commencement of pensions

   4. 45A. Guaranteed minimum pensions

   5. 45B. Survivor benefits: guaranteed minimum pension

   6. 45C. Joint liability in respect of annual allowance charge

   7. 46. Interest on late payment of certain benefits

   8. 47. Payments due in respect of deceased persons

   9. 47A. Payments for persons incapable of managing their affairs

   10. 48. Non-assignability

7. PART 6 DETERMINATION OF QUESTIONS AND DISPUTES

   1. 49. Interpretation of Part

   2. 50. First instance decisions – general

   3. 51. First instance determinations: ill-health

   4. 52. Notification of first instance decisions

   5. 53. Appointment of persons to resolve disputes

   6. 54. Right to apply for an appointed person to review a decision

   7. 55. Notice of decisions by the appointed person under regulation 54

   8. 56. Reference of disagreement to the Committee

   9. 57. Notice of decisions by the Committee under regulation 56

   10. 58. Rights of representation

   11. 59. Referral of decisions under regulation 50(1) to the county court

8. PART 7 POLICY STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION

   1. 60. Exchange of information by authorities

   2. 61. Pension administration strategy

   3. 62. Exercise of discretionary functions: policy statements

   4. 63. Communication policy statements

   5. 64. Annual benefit statements

   6. 64A. Pension savings statements

   7. 65. Information to be supplied by employees

9. PART 8 SPECIAL ADJUSTMENTS

   1. 66. Statements of policy concerning abatement of retirement pensions in new employment

   2. 67. Application of abatement policy in individual cases

   3. 68. Forfeiture of pension rights after conviction of employment-related offences

   4. 69. Interim payments directions

   5. 70. Recovery or retention where former member has misconduct obligation

   6. 71. Protection of guaranteed minimum pension rights

   7. 71A. Revaluation of guaranteed minimum

   8. 72. Transfer of sums from the fund to compensate for former member’s misconduct

10. PART 9 TRANSFERS

    1. 73. Interpretation of Part

    2. 74. Application of Chapter 4, etc.

    3. 75. Rights to payment out of the fund

    4. 76. Contracting-out requirements affecting transfers out

    5. 77. Bulk transfers (transfer of undertakings), etc.

    6. 78. Calculation of amount of transfer payment under regulation 77

    7. 79. Inward transfers of pension rights

    8. 80. Right to count credited period

    9. 81. Community scheme transferees

11. PART 10 PENSION SHARING

    1. PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

       1. 82. Pension debit member

    2. SHARING OF RIGHTS UNDER THE SCHEME

       1. 83. Interpretation

       2. 84. Discharge of liability for pension credit rights

       3. 85. Aggregation

       4. 86. Death of a person entitled to a pension credit before discharge

       5. 87. Safeguarded rights

       6. 88. Valuation date

    3. PENSION CREDIT MEMBERS AND PENSION CREDIT

       1. 89. Application of the Regulations to pension credit members

       2. 90. Calculation

       3. 91. Payment of benefits

       4. 92. Death grants: pension credit members

       5. 93. Commutation: small pensions

    4. TRANSFERS

       1. 94. Transfers out

       2. 95. Transfers in

12. Signature

13. 1. SCHEDULE 1

       INTERPRETATION

    2. SCHEDULE 2

       MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED IN ADMISSION AGREEMENTS WITH ... ADMISSION BODIES

       1. 1. A requirement for the ... admission body to pay to...

       2. 2. If required by regulation 6(4) , a reference to the...

       3. 2A. If required by regulation 6(5), a reference to the guarantee...

       4. 3. A provision requiring the ... admission body to adopt the...

       5. 4. An undertaking from the ... admission body to the Committee...

       6. 5. A representation and warranty from the transferee admission body to...

       7. 6. An undertaking from the ... admission body that it will...

       8. 7. A requirement that the ... admission body notifies the Committee...

       9. 8. A requirement that a ... admission body—

       10. 9. A provision— (a) for automatic termination of the admission agreement,...

       11. 10. A right for the Committee to terminate the agreement in...

       12. 11. A requirement that the admission agreement in its final form...

       13. 12. In relation to a transferee admission body under regulation 5(2)(a)...

    3. SCHEDULE 3

       THE COMMITTEE

       1. PART 1 CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMITTEE

          1. 1. The Committee appointed by the Minister shall consist of—

          2. 2. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-paragraph (2) and paragraph...

          3. 3. The quorum of the Committee shall be 6, or such...

          4. 4. The Committee may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its numbers...

          5. 5. A casual vacancy occurring in the membership of the Committee...

          6. 6. A member of the Committee may resign his membership by...

          7. 7. Where any member of the Committee is absent from the...

          8. 8. A member of the Committee on vacating his office at...

          9. 9. No defect in the appointment of any person acting as...

       2. PART 2 POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE

          1. 10. The Committee, which shall be a body corporate with perpetual...

          2. 11. The Committee may appoint a sub-committee or an officer employed...

          3. 12. The number of members of a sub-committee appointed under paragraph...

          4. 13. A sub-committee appointed under paragraph 11 shall consist of members...

          5. 14. A sub-committee or an officer appointed under paragraph 11 shall...

          6. 15. The Committee may revoke any appointment made under paragraph 11...

          7. 16. Any arrangements made by the Committee for the discharge of...

          8. 17. The seal of the Committee shall be authenticated by the...

          9. 18. Every document purporting to be an instrument issued by the...

          10. 19. Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, the Benefits Regulations...

          11. 20. The Committee may with the approval of the Department appoint...

          12. 21. In addition to the appointments mentioned in paragraph 20 ,...

          13. 22. (1) The Committee may make arrangements with any employing authority,...

          14. 23. Section 18(2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall...

       3. PART 3 EXPENSES AND ALLOWANCES PAYABLE BY THE COMMITTEE

          1. 24. The expenses of the Committee, including payments in respect of...

          2. 25. The Committee may, with the approval of the Department, in...

          3. 26. (1) The Committee may, with the approval of the Department,...

          4. 27. A claim for an allowance shall be submitted to the...

          5. 28. In this Part, “approved duty” means attendance at a meeting...

    4. SCHEDULE 4

       COUNCILLOR MEMBERS

       1. Membership

          1. 1. Regulation 12(1) (re-employed and rejoining deferred members) shall only apply...

          2. 2. Delete regulation 13 (concurrent employments).

       2. Additional voluntary contributions and shared cost AVC schemes

          1. 3. Delete regulation 21(3) (additional voluntary contributions and shared cost additional...

          2. 4. In regulations 21 to 23 delete “and SCAVCs” and “or...

       3. Members’ contributions

          1. 5. In regulation 22(1)(a)(ii) (use of accumulated value of AVCs and...

       4. Transfers

          1. 6. In regulation 41 (rights to return of contributions) delete paragraphs...

          2. 7. Delete regulations 77 to 81 (bulk transfers (transfers of undertaking),...

14. Explanatory Note