The Health and Personal Social Services (Superannuation) (Additional Voluntary Contributions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Health and Personal Social Services (Superannuation) (Additional Voluntary Contributions) 1999 (S.R. 1999 No. 294) (“the principal Regulations”) which make provision for the payment of additional voluntary contributions by persons who are members of the Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS) Superannuation Scheme as constituted by the Health and Personal Social Services (Superannuation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (“the 1995 Regulations”) or by their employers, in order to secure additional benefits financed by investment of those contributions.

The Regulations have retrospective effect from 1st April 2002, as authorised by Article 14(1) of the Superannuation (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.

Regulations 1 and 2 provide for the citation, commencement, retrospective effect and interpretation.

Regulation 3 inserts a new definition into regulation 2 of the principal Regulations (Interpretation).

Regulation 4 amends regulation 3 of the principal Regulations (Making and Acceptance of Elections) in order to clarify that “absence from work” means absence on ill-health and to provide that the member will be notified in writing of the Department’s acceptance of an election.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 6 of the principal Regulations (Circumstances in which elections cease to have effect) to provide that an election shall be treated as not having ceased to have effect in circumstances where a contributor is in receipt of superannuation benefits under the Superannuation Scheme Regulations, or where he has left superannuable employment and he wishes to switch his AVC investments or future contributions to another authorised fund.

Regulation 6 substitutes a new regulation 10 of the principal Regulations (Outward transfers) to provide that certain persons making contributions under those Regulations may transfer the value of investments made under those Regulations to another form of pension arrangement, including a free-standing additional voluntary contributions scheme, without having also to transfer the value of their rights held in the HPSS Superannuation Scheme.

Regulation 7 amends paragraph 9 of the Schedule to the principal Regulations so as to raise the limit for retirement pensions in cases where the member retires after the age of 60 and is entitled to a greater pension because of its postponement.