The Judicial Pensions Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

Exercise of partial retirement option N.I.

60.—(1) This regulation applies if—

(a) a person (P) is an active member of this scheme in relation to a continuous period of pensionable service;

(b) P has reached normal minimum pension age;

(c) the terms of P's appointment have changed and as a result of that change the [F1 amount] of P's pensionable earnings is reduced to 80% of their amount before the change or less; and

(d) P would be entitled to the immediate payment of a full retirement pension in relation to that period of service if P left pensionable service and claimed payment of the pension.

(2) P may opt to continue in pensionable service but claim payment of the whole or part only of P's accrued pensions [F2 in respect of a particular office] for the continuous period of pensionable service before P's pensionable earnings were reduced (“partial retirement option”).

(3) P may not exercise a partial retirement option more than once in relation to a description of accrued pension.

[F3 (4) Where P holds more than one judicial office—

(a) P may exercise a partial retirement option separately in relation to each office held; and

(b) P may only access the pension accrued in relation to the particular office or offices in respect of which P is exercising the partial retirement option.

(5) For the purposes of calculating P’s annual pensionable earnings in relation to paragraph (1)(c) where P is a fee-paid office holder, the amount of pensionable earnings that P receives in respect of a particular office is calculated as follows—

Z per annum, where:

where—

J means the total fee-paid income in respect of that office over the preceding three years, or, if less than three years, over the period since P was first appointed to that office;

K means the lesser of—

(a)

3; or

(b)

the period in years (and a fraction of a year, determined by complete months) from the first sitting day in that particular office until the date of partial retirement;

“complete month” includes an incomplete month that consists of at least 16 days; and

Z means the annualised total of fees from that particular office.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in reg. 60(1)(c) substituted (1.4.2022) by The Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/73), regs. 1(2), 3(7)(a)

F2 Words in reg. 60(2) inserted (1.4.2022) by The Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/73), regs. 1(2), 3(7)(b)

F3 Reg. 60(4)(5) inserted (1.4.2022) by The Judicial Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/73), regs. 1(2), 3(7)(c)