The National Health Service Pension Schemes (Member Contributions etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/300) (“the 1995 Regulations”), the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/653) (“the 2008 Regulations”), and the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/94) (the “2015 Regulations”).

Part 2 amends the 2015 Regulations to introduce a new structure in respect of member contributions. Part 2 amends contribution rates paid by members towards their pension and creates new pensionable earning bands and contributions rates to be paid by members from 1 October 2022.

The amendments in Part 2 also provide a mechanism for the pensionable earnings bands that determine a member’s contribution rate to be updated and amended annually, makes changes in relation to the assessment of a tiered contribution rate for part-time employed members based on their actual annual rate of pay rather than the notional whole-time equivalent and to remove reference to the notional whole time equivalent, and sets out how a member’s pensionable earnings are to be determined for the purposes of setting their contribution rate for the scheme year.

Part 3 makes temporary modifications to the 1995 Regulations, the 2008 Regulations and the 2015 Regulations to suspend the operation of various provisions applying to members who partially retire or return to NHS employment after their pension becomes payable. These provisions were originally suspended by section 45 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 (c. 7). 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.