The National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995

Right to buy additional service E+W+S

Q1.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation and regulations Q3 (2) and (6) (electing to buy additional service), Q4 (paying by single payment) and Q6 (paying by regular additional contributions), a member in pensionable employment may increase his rights to benefits under the scheme, by buying additional service.

[F1 (1A) A member may only increase the member’s rights to benefit by buying additional service, other than that to which paragraph (9) of this regulation refers, if—

(a) the member has given notice of the member’s intention to exercise that right in writing or in such other form as the Secretary of State agrees to accept; and

(b) that notice is received by the member’s employing authority or the scheme administrator on or before 31st March 2008; and

(c) the Secretary of State accepts an election to pay for additional service under regulation Q3 and the member makes regular additional contributions in respect of that election from a birthday that falls between 1st April 2008 and 31st March 2009.]

[F2 (2) A member buying additional service to which paragraph (9) of this regulation refers, may choose to pay for that additional service by—

(a) making a single payment in accordance with regulation Q4; or

(b) making regular additional contributions in accordance with regulation Q6; or

(c) a combination of (a) and (b).

(2A) A member buying additional service other than that to which paragraph (9) of this regulation refers, must pay for that additional service by making regular additional contributions in accordance with regulation Q6.]

(3) The member must exercise his right to buy additional service within the time limits described in regulation Q4 or, as the case may be, regulation Q6 and before becoming entitled to a pension under regulation E1 (normal retirement pension) or L1 (preserved pension).

(4) Any period of additional service that the member buys will count as pensionable service for all of the purposes of the scheme, except—

(a) for the purpose of calculating whether and, if so, by how much the member’s pensionable service should be (or, where the member dies in pensionable employment, would have been) increased as described in regulation E2 [F3 or E2A]; and

(b) for the purpose of calculating the member’s qualifying service in accordance with regulation C3 (meaning of qualifying service).

(5) For the purposes of regulation G7 (widower’s pension), if a woman exercised her right to buy additional service before 6th April 1988, the additional service bought as a result of the exercise of that right will be treated as service before 6th April 1988.

[F4 (5A) For the purposes of regulation G10 (surviving civil partner’s pension) if a civil partner exercised his right to buy additional service before 6th April 1988, the additional service bought as a result of the exercise of that right will be treated as service before 6th April 1988.]

[F5 (5B) For the purpose of regulation G14 (surviving nominated partner’s pension), if a member who has a nominated partner exercised the member’s right to buy additional service before 6 April 1988, the additional service bought as a result of the exercise of that right will be treated as service before 6th April 1988.]

(6) Subject to paragraph (7) and regulation C2(3), the maximum period of additional service that the member may buy is the period set out in the following table opposite the number of years of pensionable service that the member could complete if he stayed in pensionable employment until age 60 [F6 or, in the case of a special class officer, age 55]. A member who could not complete at least 9 years pensionable service prior to reaching age 60 [F6 or, in the case of a special class officer, age 55] may not buy any additional service.

Potential years of pensionable service	Maximum period of additional service that member may buy
9	1 year
10	2 years
11	3 years
12	4 years
13	5 years
14	7 years
15	9 years
16	11 years
17	13 years
18	15 years
19	17 years
20 or more	20 years

[F7 (6A) A member who

(i) joined the scheme on or after 17th March 1987;

(ii) has made an application prior to 1st September 1997 to buy additional service; and

(iii) does not commence making payments under regulation Q6 until on or after 1st September 1997,

may, until no later than 31st August 1998, elect that paragraph (6) shall cease to apply to him.

(6B) Paragraph (6) shall cease to apply to a member who

(i) joined the scheme on or after 17th March 1987;

(ii) makes an application on or after 1st September 1997 to buy additional service; and

(iii) commences payments under regulation Q6 on or after 1st September 1997.]

(7) [F8 Subject to paragraph (10), the] member’s right to buy additional service is subject to any limits imposed by the Inland Revenue.

(8) Where a special class officer buys a period of additional service, the amount of the benefits attributable to that period of additional service will be those that would be payable in the case of a member who is not a special class officer.

(9) Where a member, following a break in pensionable employment in respect of which he received a refund of contributions which has not been repaid, rejoins the scheme, he may buy all or any part of the previous pensionable service provided that the employment giving rise to that service was not employment to which the contracting–out requirements applied.

[F9 (10) Except in the case of a pension debit member who is a moderate earner, a member may not replace any rights debited as a consequence of a pension sharing order with any rights which he would not have been able to acquire (in addition to the debited rights) had the pension sharing order not been made.

(11) For the purposes of paragraph (10)—

“moderate earner” means a member whose pensionable pay during the tax year preceding the tax year in which his marriage [F10 or civil partnership] is dissolved or annulled is not more than 25 per cent. of the permitted maximum for the tax year in which the dissolution or annulment occurred;

“pension debit member” means a person whose shareable rights under the scheme are subject to a debit under section 29(1)(a) of the 1999 Act;

“permitted maximum” means the same as in section 590C of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (earnings cap); and

F11 ...]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. Q1(1A) inserted (1.4.2008) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/654), regs. 1(2), 45(2)

F2 Reg. Q1(2)(2A) substituted for reg. Q1(2) (1.4.2008) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/654), regs. 1(2), 45(3)

F3 Words in reg. Q1(4)(a) substituted (1.4.2008) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/654), regs. 1(2), 45(4)

F4 Reg. Q1(5A) inserted (5.12.2005) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits, Additional Voluntary Contributions and Compensation for Premature Retirement) (Civil Partnership) Amendment Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/3074), regs. 1, 2(21)

F5 Reg. Q1(5B) inserted (1.4.2008) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/654), regs. 1(2), 45(5)

F6 Words in reg. Q1(6) inserted (1.4.1998) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/666), regs. 1, 8(1)

F7 Reg. Q1(6A)(6B) inserted (1.4.1998) by The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998/666), regs. 1, 8(2)

F8 Words in reg. Q1(7) substituted (with effect from 10.5.2000) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits, Additional Voluntary Contributions and Compensation for Premature Retirement) Amendment Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3280), regs. 1(2)(c), 2(13)(a)

F9 Reg. Q1(10)(11) inserted (with effect from 10.5.2000) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits, Additional Voluntary Contributions and Compensation for Premature Retirement) Amendment Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3280), regs. 1(2)(c), 2(13)(b)

F10 Words in reg. Q1(11) inserted (with effect from 5.12.2005) by The National Health Service (Pension Scheme, Injury Benefits, Additional Voluntary Contributions and Compensation for Premature Retirement) Amendment Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/3280), regs. 1(2)(d), 2(13)(c)

F11 Words in reg. Q1(11) omitted (1.4.2008) by virtue of The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/654), regs. 1(2), 45(6)