The Police Pension Schemes and Additional Voluntary Contributions (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2018

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend—

• the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/257), “the 1987 Regulations” which established the 1987 Police Pension Scheme;

• the Police Pensions Regulations 2006 (S.I.2006/3415), “the 2006 Regulations” which established the 2006 Police Pension Scheme;

• the Police Pensions Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/445) “the 2015 Regulations” which established the 2015 Police Pension Scheme; and

• the Police Pensions (Additional Voluntary Contributions) Regulations 1991 (“the AVC Regulations”) which extend to England, Wales and Scotland and establish a scheme enabling members of the 1987 Police Pensions Scheme to elect to pay additional pension contributions.

Section 1(5) of the Police Pensions Act 1976 enables these Regulations to make amendments in relation to the 1987 Regulations, the 2006 Regulations and the AVC Regulations from a date earlier than the date these Regulations are made.

Regulations 3 and 5 amend respectively regulations A10 and F1 of the 1987 Regulations and Regulation 9 amends regulation 10 of the 2006 Regulations to ensure that members of the 1987 and 2006 Police Pension schemes are able to buy back periods of unpaid adoption leave, unpaid adoption support leave and unpaid maternity support leave (“unpaid family leave”), in the same way as members of the 2015 Police Pension Scheme are able to do. Regulation 6 amends regulation G1(3) of the 1987 Regulations and regulations 10 to 12 amend regulations 24 to 26 of the 2006 Regulations to ensure that members’ pensionable pay is not affected by a reduction in pay while they are on a period of unpaid family leave. These amendments have effect in relation to unpaid family leave taken on or after 1st September 2014.

Regulations 4 and 14 amend the 1987 and 2015 Regulations respectively to enable a police officer to choose to use a compensation lump sum on voluntary retirement to buy out only part of the actuarial reduction that is applied to the early payment of a deferred pension to reflect the longer period over which it is paid. The provisions also set out that the amount that the police pension authority may choose to pay towards the actuarial reduction is subject to any restriction that might apply under section 153A of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (c. 26).

Regulations 15 and 16 make transitional provision in relation to buying back unpaid family leave.

Regulation 17 makes clear that these amendments do not apply to an officer who has applied for voluntary retirement on or before the date these Regulations come into force.

Regulations 18 to 28 amend the AVC Regulations. The effect of new regulation 10C inserted into the 1991 Regulations by regulation 24, is to increase the options available to members of the AVC Scheme in England and Wales as regards when and how to take benefits from the Scheme. Corresponding amendments were made to the AVC Regulations in relation to members of the AVC Scheme in Scotland by the Police Pensions (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2016 (SSI 2016/75).These amendments have effect from 28th July 2016.

The other amendments to the AVC Regulations are consequential to the amendment made by regulation 7 or make minor changes to update statutory references.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no, significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.