The Local Government Pension Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2018

Amendment of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Transitional Provisions, Savings and Amendment) Regulations 2014

5.  In regulation 17 (survivor benefits)—

(a) after paragraph (9)(b) insert—

“(c) subject to sub-paragraphs (d) and (e), any calculation of the survivor pension payable under the Earlier Regulations to a person who is the surviving civil partner of a member or who is the surviving spouse of a same sex marriage with a member is to be on the basis that the survivor is a widow, irrespective of the sex of the member;

(d) in respect of a calculation under sub-paragraph (c) where the member left under a scheme to which the 1995 Regulations or the 1997 Regulations apply and died before 1st April 2014, any reference to contracted out membership is to be read as including contracted in membership;

(e) sub-paragraph (c) does not apply where the member died before 1st April 2014 and whose survivor benefit fell to be determined under the Benefits Regulations.”;

(b) omit paragraphs (11)(a) and (c);

(c) in paragraph (11)(b), for “survivor” substitute “male survivor”;

(d) for paragraphs (12) and (13) substitute—

“(12) Any calculation of any survivor pension payable under the Earlier Regulations is only to take account of membership accrued by that member after 5th April 1978 where—

(a) a member enters into a civil partnership or same-sex marriage after leaving active membership and dies; or

(b) a male deferred member, deferred pensioner member or pensioner member marries and dies leaving a female survivor.

(13) Notwithstanding paragraph (9)(c), for the purposes of paragraphs (10) and (12), membership includes—

(a) any membership that would have counted for the purpose of F8(3) of the 1995 Regulations or by virtue of regulation 4A(2) of the 1997 Transitional Regulations;

(b) relevant additional membership that would have counted as membership for the purposes of regulations 42 and 42A of the 1997 Regulations (reduction of some surviving spouses’ and civil partners’ pensions);

(c) membership that would have counted under regulations F3, F4 or F5 of the 1995 Regulations by virtue of F6 of those Regulations; and;

(d) any membership purchased under regulation 14A(59) of the Benefits Regulations (elections to pay additional contributions: survivor benefits).”; and

(e) after paragraph (16) insert—

“(17) In this regulation—

“surviving civil partner of a member” means a person who, at the time of a member’s death, was in a civil partnership with the member; and

“surviving spouse of a same sex marriage with a member” means a person who, at the time of a member’s death, was married to the member.”.