The Health and Social Care Pension Schemes (Remediable Service) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023

Election for retrospective provision to apply to opted-out service N.I.

8.—(1) A person mentioned in paragraph (2) may make an election in relation to relevant opted-out service(1) of a member of the legacy scheme or the 2015 scheme (“an opted-out service election”) in accordance with this regulation.

(2) That person is—

(a) a member (“M”) who has a period or periods of service in an employment or office that would have been pensionable and remediable service under the legacy scheme or the 2015 scheme had M not opted out of that scheme for that period, or those periods (“relevant opted-out service”); or

(b) a designated person or such a person as would be a designated person were the relevant opted-out service considered remediable service) where—

(i) M is deceased and was not at the time of their death entitled to a retirement pension in respect of pensionable service under the legacy scheme or the 2015 scheme;

(ii) M is deceased and was at the time of their death entitled to such a retirement pension; or

(iii) M is, in the opinion of the scheme manager, by reason of illness or mental disorder or otherwise unable to look after their own affairs.

(3) An opted-out service election may only be made if an application by or on behalf of M is made in a form and within a period determined, and accompanied by such information as the scheme manager may require.

(4) The scheme manager—

(a) may refuse the application if the condition in paragraph (5) is not met;

(b) must, within six months of receiving the application, send to the person who made the application notice about its outcome;

(c) must, if the scheme manager accepts the application, include with that notice a remediable service statement in accordance with section 29 of PSPJOA 2022 and direction 20 of the 2023 Directions.

(5) The condition referred to in paragraph (4)(a) is that the scheme manager is satisfied that it is more likely than not that, but for an actual or anticipated relevant breach of a non-discrimination rule(2), M would not, during the period of M’s remediable service, have made the decision to opt out of the legacy scheme or the 2015 scheme between 1st April 2015 and 31st March 2022 (both dates inclusive).

(6) That condition is met where M informed the scheme manager at any time between 1st October 2014 and 31st March 2022 (those dates included) of the decision by virtue of which M’s service became relevant opted-out service.

(7) Where the scheme manager has accepted an application made under paragraph (3), the person mentioned in paragraph (2) may make an opted-out service election which must be—

(a) made after a remediable service statement has been provided in accordance with paragraph (4)(c);

(b) in a form determined, and accompanied by such information as is required, by the scheme manager.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 8 in operation at 1.10.2023, see reg. 1

(1)

For the meaning of “opted-out service”, see section 36 of PSPJOA 2022.

(2)

See section 25(8) of PSPJOA 2022 for the meaning of “non-discrimination rule” and section 25(9) for the circumstances in which breach of a non-discrimination rule is “relevant”.