The Firefighters’ Pension Scheme Order (Northern Ireland) 2007

Previous service reckonable following actionable loss N.I.

51.—(1) This article applies to a regular firefighter who—

(a) has opted out or transferred out or both;

(b) has suffered loss as a result of a contravention which is actionable under section 62 of the Financial Services Act 1986(1) (actions for damages in respect of contraventions of rules etc. made under the Act), or section 150 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000(2).

(2) A regular firefighter—

(a) to whom this article applies; and

(b) who has given notice under article 59(7) cancelling his election under article 59(1),

may give written notice to the Board that he wishes it to accept payment of a transfer value in order to create or restore his reckonable service.

(3) Paragraph (4) or (5) applies where the Board has accepted—

(a) within 12 months of the date of the notice given under paragraph (2); or

(b) such longer period as it may allow,

payment of a transfer value in relation to a regular firefighter by whom a notice has been given under paragraph (2) (whether or not he has ceased to be a regular firefighter after the date of the notice) not exceeding the amount which it calculates in accordance with article 52 would need to be made as a restitution payment in respect of him.

(4) Where the amount of the transfer value equals the amount which the Board calculates in accordance with article 52 would need to be made as a restitution payment in respect of that firefighter—

(a) the whole of the relevant period shall be treated as reckonable service; and

(b) he shall be treated for the purposes of calculating any award under this Scheme as having made pension contributions throughout the period of reckonable service credited under this paragraph.

(5) Where the amount of the transfer value is less than the amount which the Board calculates in accordance with article 52 would need to be made as a restitution payment in respect of that firefighter—

(a) the Board shall calculate in accordance with the methods and assumptions required by article 52 the period of reckonable service that the transfer value represents and treat as reckonable service such period;

(b) he shall be treated for the purpose of calculating any award under this Scheme as having made pension contributions throughout the period of reckonable service credited under this paragraph; and

(c) that period shall be treated as a continuous period with the same final date as the final date of the relevant period.

(6) Where a regular firefighter who is being credited under paragraph (4) or (5) with a period of reckonable service has previously been credited with an additional period of reckonable service calculated in accordance with Part IV of Schedule 6 (amount of transfer value) in respect of the relevant period, the Board may adjust the amount of the transfer value that it accepts under this article to ensure that no part of the additional period of reckonable service that was previously credited is included in the period of reckonable service credited under paragraph (4) or (5).

(7) In this article and article 52 —

(a) a person shall be taken to have opted out if he had elected under article 59(1) (election not to pay pension contributions) not to pay pension contributions and for any period during which he was a regular firefighter he instead made contributions to a personal pension scheme;

(b) a person shall be taken to have transferred out if a transfer value has been paid in respect of him under article 55 (payment of transfer values) by the Board to a personal pension scheme;and

(c) “relevant period”, in relation to a regular firefighter, means the total of any periods of opted out and, where appropriate, transferred out service.

Commencement Information

I1 ANNEX Scheme Pt. F art. 51 in operation at 1.4.2006, see art. 1(2)

(1)

1986 c.60

(2)

2000 c.8