These regulations amend the Royal Ulster Constabulary Pensions Regulations 1988 (“the 1988 Regulations”), the Police Pension (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2009 (“the 2009 Regulations”) and the Police Pensions Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 (“the 2015 Regulations”).

Part 1 makes amendments to the 2015 Regulations.

Regulation 5 removes the requirement of the Scheme Manager to seek departmental approval when appointing a chair to the Police Pension Board, thereby aligning the 2015 Regulations with equivalent practices taken by police schemes in England and Wales.

Regulations 7 and 17 amend the 2015 regulations to include provision for part-time members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve and police trainees.

Regulations 12-16, 22-25, 27-32, and 42 contain minor technical amendments to clarify interpretation and assist the execution of the ill-health retirement and appeals process.

Regulation 33 provides clarity regarding an option to buy out early payment reduction.

Regulations 10 and 35 amend the regulations to remove the ill-health eligibility assessment of members joining the scheme.

Regulation 36 details the increase in the employer contribution rate following the 2020 scheme valuation.

Regulations 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 18-21, 26, 34, 40, 41, and 43 make minor technical amendments to amend typological errors and clarify interpretation.

Regulations 37 and 38 remove references to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996.

Regulation 39 provides the pension supervising authority with the discretion to restore a pension that has been forfeited.

Part 2 makes amendments to the 2009 Regulations.

Regulation 45 aligns the provisions for forfeiture of beneficiaries in the 2009 Regulations with those in the 2015 Regulations.

Part 3 makes amendments to the 1988 Regulations.

Regulations 47, 49 and 51 make technical amendment relating the reinstatement of the widows’ pension on 1 July 2014.

Regulation 48 aligns the 1988 Regulations with the requirements of the Finance Act 2004 with regard to limitation on child allowance.

Regulation 50 aligns the provisions for forfeiture of beneficiaries in the 1988 Regulations with those in the 2015 Regulations.