The Teachers' Superannuation (Amendment) Regulations 1989

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Teachers' Superannuation (Consolidation) Regulations 1988 (“the principal Regulations”).

Regulations 2, 3, 5, 7(2)(b), 9, 11, 15(c) to (e) and 16(c) contain minor drafting amendments, regulation 14 corrects a statutory reference, and regulation 18 corrects errors in the table governing the rate of additional contributions paid in order to count a past period as reckonable service.

Regulation 4 substitutes a simpler formula for limiting the annual amount of the instalments by which repaid contributions may be returned to the Secretary of State.

Regulation 6 requires the employer to notify the Secretary of State that employment was terminated by reason of redundancy, etc., where he is obliged to do so under the compensation regulations mentioned.

Regulation 7(2)(c) limits total benefits where there are additional benefits from a voluntary scheme to which no employer contributed; consequential amendments are made by regulation 7(1) and (2)(a).

Regulation 8 excludes part-time employment in an “accepted” independent school or futher education establishment from the categories of further employment that may result in an abatement of pension.

Regulation E24(4) of the principal Regulations increased the duration of short-term family pensions in certain cases where either no long-term pension was payable or less than 2 years' service counted towards a long-term pension. Regulation 10 of these Regulations provides for increased duration where less than 5 years' service counts.

Regulation E26 of the principal Regulations provided for increases, in certain circumstances, in the service counting towards family pensions, but the application of these provisions to pensions payable to widowers was a restricted one. Regulation 12 of these Regulations extends the application to all widowers' pensions.

Regulation 13 clarifies the “standard” salary increase which is to be substituted for an increase intended mainly to increase retirement benefits.

Regulation 15 (a) and (b) extends the categories of scheme from which transfer values may be accepted.

Regulation 17(a) reflects changes in the education system made by the Education Reform Act 1988, and regulation 16(a) and (b) introduces related definitions; regulation 17(b) adds to the categories of employment that are pensionable on election.

Regulation 19 retrospectively modifies certain provisions in the Teachers' Superannuation Regulations 1976 (revoked by the principal Regulations). The modifications, which have effect as from the dates in 1988 on which the provisions were introduced into the 1976 Regulations, correspond to the amendments made to the principal Regulations by regulations 11, 12 and 18(a) of these Regulations.

Section 12 of the Superannuation Act 1972 confers express power to make regulations retrospective in effect. These Regulations are to a large extent retrospective, but regulation 20 makes transitional provision for opting out where rights in relation to ex-employees are adversely affected.