The Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the following Regulations, as they have effect in England and Wales: the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 (“the 1987 Regulations”), which provide for the superannuation of members of police forces and the Police Pensions (Additional Voluntary Contributions) Regulations 1991 (“the AVC Regulations”), which make provision for the payment of additional voluntary contributions by police officers to secure additional pension benefits.

Regulation 1 provide for the citation, commencement and extent of the Regulations. The amendment relating to maternity leave made by paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 applies in relation to any period of maternity leave falling on or after 15 December 1999. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule 2 and associated changes in definitions have effect from 1st December 2002. Paragraph 6(b) of Schedule 2 has effect from 1st November 1999.

Regulation 2 introduces Schedule 1 which amends the 1987 Regulations. Paragraph 1 amends regulation A9 so as to enable pensionable service to be apportioned for the purposes of regulation G6. Paragraph 2 amends regulation B1(3) so as to entitle police officers who retire at the end of fixed term appointments to qualify for a pension under regulation B1 without the term having been extended or an extension having been refused. Paragraph 3 amends regulation F1 so as to increase the period of maternity leave which counts as pensionable service that is reckonable from 14 to 18 weeks. Paragraph 4 extensively amends regulation G6 so as to enable payments to be made by women members to enhance widowers' awards in cases where members with service before 17th May 1990 were not able to elect to make such payments under that regulation because they were not paying contributions throughout the period of 3 months beginning on 1st April 1994 and did not resume paying them within two years of ceasing to do so. Following the amendment such elections may be made within the period of 3 months beginning with the date on which these Regulations come into force if the woman’s contributions became payable again on or before that date, or, if they became payable again on a later date, within the period of 3 months of that date.

Regulation 3 introduces Schedule 2 which amends the AVC Regulations. Paragraph 1 amends the definition in regulation 2 so that the The Equitable Life Assurance Society (“the Society”) and The Standard Life Assurance Company are each an “approved additional voluntary contributions provider”. The amendments in paragraphs 2 to 4 enable the contributor to select such a provider for the investment of his contributions instead of the contributions having to be invested with the Society. (The amendments of regulations 12 and 15 made by paragraphs 7 and 8 are consequential on this). Paragraph 5 introduces a new regulation 10A under which contributors may request that their investments be transferred from the approved voluntary contributions provider chosen by them, so that they are held outside the scheme constituted by the Regulations. Paragraph 6 amends regulation 11 so that a participator who retires on or after 1st November 1999 may make an election as to his pension at any time before his 75th birthday, and his retirement annuity may be purchased from any insurance company he specifies under that regulation, instead of from the list of pension providers in Schedule 1 to the Regulations.

The amendments do not impose any costs on business.