Local Government Pension Scheme Appeal Determination By The Secretary of State

Our Ref: LGR 85/18/

13 October 1998

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION APPEAL

SUPERANNUATION ACT 1972

LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUPERANNUATION REGULATIONS 1986 (“the 1986 regulations”)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME REGULATIONS 1997 (“the 1997 regulations”)

1. I refer to your letter of 16 September 1998 in which you appeal to the Secretary of State (under regulation 102 of the 1997 regulations) following Mr XXX’s (the Appointed Person for XXX Council) determination of 24 March 1998. The Appointed Person rejected your complaint to have earlier periods of local authority employment regarded as pensionable. His reasons were that regulation D12 of the 1986 regulations (as amended) permits periods of part-time employment to be reckoned as qualifying service from 1 April 1974, except for a period which was followed by a break of 12 months or more. He found that your break in service from July 1983 to July 1985 counts as such a break and that the period of casual employment cannot be taken into account. He further found that the Council has no discretion under the regulations to consider any other action.

2. The Secretary of State notes you have not questioned the Appointed Person’s decision but consider discretion should be applied in your case as the twelve months break in your service prevents you from making payments into the main scheme to obtain benefits arising from your part-time employment between 31 March 1974 and 1 July 1985. He notes the reasons and the circumstances which resulted in the break in your service between September 1983 and June 1985.

3. The Secretary of State’s powers under regulations 102 and 103 are limited, like the Appointed Person, to whether the regulations have been correctly applied in the given circumstances. He notes that because the break in you local government employment after September 1983 is more than 12 months, regulation D12 does not treat your earlier local government employment as qualifying service. As a result you were unable to elect to make contributions for those periods under regulation C7A which permitted contributions to be made for part-time service before 1 April 1986. There are no discretionary provisions in the 1986 regulations, or subsequent regulations, which would let the employing authority, the administering authority, the Appointed Person or the Secretary of State allow you to make payment into the main scheme for your periods of part-time employment prior to when you joined XXX Council in 1985. The Secretary of State determines accordingly.

4. I note that you sought advice from the Pensions Advisory Service (OPAS) about submitting an appeal to the Secretary of State. They are also available to assist members and beneficiaries in connection with difficulties which they have failed to resolve. Their address is 11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB (telephone number 0171 233 8080).

5. The Pensions Ombudsman may also investigate and determine any complaint or dispute of fact or law in relation to the local government pension scheme made or referred in accordance with the Pension Schemes Act 1993. His address is 11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB (telephone number 0171 834 9144).