The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment etc.) Regulations 1999

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations affect the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997 (“the principal Regulations”) which comprise the Local Government Pension Scheme (“the Scheme”).

Regulations 2 to 8 make a number of amendments to the principal Regulations and the amendments take effect from the date that these Regulations come into force.

Regulation 3 amends the principal Regulations by substituting a new regulation 5 which provides for administering authorities to make admission agreements to enable employees of non-Scheme employers to be members of the Scheme. The new regulation 5 of the principal Regulations widens the categories of bodies which are admission bodies. It also adds procedural requirements in connection with admission agreements with certain categories of admission bodies and provides that questions arising in connection with admission agreements shall be determined by the Secretary of State.

The principal change is to allow employees of transferee admission bodies to be members. Transferee admission bodies are bodies who provide services or assets to local authority or other best value authorities (as defined in the Local Government Act 1999), who exercise a function under a direction made under section 15 of that Act or who perform a function on behalf of a local education authority under directions made under section 497A of the Education Act 1996 (as amended by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998).

The substituted regulation 5 also includes a body representative of Scheme employers as an admission body.

Regulation 4 makes a consequential amendment to regulation 6 of the principal Regulations, to provide when employees of transferee admission bodies are treated as leaving local government employment for the purposes of the Scheme.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 32 of the principal Regulations, which covers re-employed and rejoining deferred members, to provide that for members who have accrued Scheme membership with certain admission bodies, specified periods of such membership may not be aggregated in calculating lump sum benefits.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 78 of the principal Regulations which deals with special circumstances where revised actuarial valuations and certificates must be obtained. The amendments makes special provision in connection with valuations and certificates in respect of liabilities of admission bodies and of the funds in respect of employees of those bodies.

Regulation 7 introduces a new schedule as Schedule 2A to the principal Regulations which sets out conditions to be included in an admission agreement with a transferee admission body.

Regulation 8 makes a consequential amendment to Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations which sets out Inland Revenue restrictions on benefits under the Scheme.

Regulation 9 provides that the amendments made by these Regulations do not affect admission agreements entered into before the date that these Regulations come into force.

Regulation 10 is a free-standing regulation which provides that where directions under section 497A of the Education Act 1996 are given between 1st April 1999 and the date on which these Regulations come into force which result in a body performing a function on behalf of a local education authority, the employees who transferred from employment with the local education authority to employment with that body are treated, for the purposes of the Scheme, as employees of the local education authority until such time, if applicable, as an admission agreement under regulation 5 of the principal Regulations is made. Section 12 of the Superannuation Act 1972 provides that regulations made under section 7 of that Act may have retrospective effect.