The Police Service of Northern Ireland Pensions (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2006

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

These Regulations amend the Royal Ulster Constabulary Pensions Regulations 1988 and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (Additional Voluntary Contributions) Regulations 1993.

In particular, these Regulations make amendments consequent on the coming into force of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 with retrospective effect from 5th December 2005, which is the date on which the substantive provisions of that Act came into effect. Retrospective effect in the Regulations is permitted by Articles 14 and 15 of the Superannuation (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.

In general, provisions which apply to married couples are amended so as to apply to couples who form a civil partnership.

These Regulations also amend regulation G6 of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Pensions Regulations 1988 so as to enable payments to be made by women members to enhance widowers' and surviving civil partners' awards in cases where members with service before 17th May 1990 did not elect to make such payments under that regulation before because they related only to widowers' benefits. Following the amendment such elections may be made within the period of 3 months beginning with the date on which these Regulations come into operation if the woman’s contributions became payable again on or before that date or, if they became payable again on a later date, within the period of 3 months of that date.

Paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 imposes a cut-off date of 5th April 2006 for cancelling elections not to pay pension contributions. This is because a new police pension scheme is to be introduced from 6th April 2006 and it is intended that any person who has previously made such an election but then wishes to reinstate himself as a member of the police pension scheme should, from 6th April, join the new scheme.