The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2010

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/300) (“the 1995 Regulations”) and the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/653) (“the 2008 Regulations”).

Regulation 1 provides for citation, commencement and effect, including that certain provisions of this instrument are to take effect from various dates before the date of commencement. Section 12(1) of the Superannuation Act 1972 (c.11) provides authority for the regulations specified in regulation 1(3) and (4) to take effect as from a date earlier than the making of these Regulations.

The remainder of the Regulations are divided into three Parts, with Parts 2 and 3 amending the 1995 Regulations and the 2008 Regulations respectively and Part 4 providing that certain persons detrimentally affected by these Regulations may elect for the provisions not to apply to them.

Parts 2 and 3 make similar amendments in respect of both the 1995 Regulations and the 2008 Regulations. They also introduce amendments specific to either the 1995 Regulations or the 2008 Regulations.

The changes dealing with similar issues in Parts 2 and 3 (amending the 1995 and 2008 Regulations)—

• introduce uprated pay/earnings bands for the purpose of assessing tiered contribution rates for members and remove the provisions which permit the Secretary of State to change the bands and tiered contribution rates by making a determination (regulations 3, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16)

• specify that the current employer contribution rate is 14% (regulations 4, 14, and 17)

• reflect the respective roles of the Secretary of State, the Treasury, the Scheme Actuary and representatives of employees and employing authorities in the setting of assumptions on which actuarial reports of the scheme’s liabilities are based (regulations 6 and 9).

The changes specific to Part 2 (amending the 1995 Regulations) provide for the scheme’s obligations in respect of guaranteed minimum pensions to remain linked to age 60 for women and age 65 for men (regulation 5).

The changes specific to Part 3 (amending the 2008 Regulations) regroup regulations that deal with the member and employer contributions due in respect of members who are non-GP providers (regulations 10, 13 and 14).

Part 4 provides that deferred members, or members in receipt of a relevant benefit, who are detrimentally affected by these Regulations may elect for the provisions not to apply to them by giving notice within six months of the coming into force of these Regulations (regulation 18).