Contributions during reserve forces service leave
19.—(1) This regulation applies to a person who—
(a) is a member or has applied to be a member; and
(b) goes on reserve forces service leave.
(2) He must pay contributions under regulation 3 of the Benefits Regulations and any payments under regulation 23 of these Regulations or regulation 55 of the 1997 Regulations that he was paying immediately before his relevant reserve forces service began if (and only if) his reserve forces pay during that service equals or exceeds the pay he would have received if he had continued to be employed in his former employment.
(3) Those contributions continue to be payable to the appropriate fund at the same rates on that pay.
(4) If he is not obliged to pay contributions under paragraph (2), he must be treated for the purposes of these Regulations and the Benefits Regulations as if he had paid them and also any payments under regulation 23 of these Regulations or regulation 55 of the 1997 Regulations that he would have been liable to pay if he had continued to be employed in his former employment.
(5) If he was paying any contributions under regulation 25(1) immediately before his leave began—
(a) he may continue to pay, or may stop paying, them; and
(b) unless he has stopped paying them, the appropriate administering authority must, throughout the period of his relevant reserve forces service, continue to pay such contributions as were to be used to provide benefits for him on his death.
(6) His relevant reserve forces service counts as a period of membership in his former employment.
(7) If during that service, he—
(a) dies;
(b) attains his
normal retirement ageage 60 (regulation 15(4) of the LGPS (Transitional Provisions) 2008); or(c) becomes incapable for health reasons of working efficiently in local government employment,
he must be treated as if he were in that employment at that time.
(8) In this regulation—
“cancelling notice" in relation to a person’s relevant reserve forces service, means—
(a) an agreement, by a member who has not waived his right to receive a return of contributions under regulation 46, to receive a return of contributions; or
(b) a notice in writing given by him to the appropriate administering authority not later than 12 months after the end of the period of service to which the notice relates (or within such longer period as the administering authority may allow) that the service should not be treated as relevant reserve forces service;
“relevant reserve forces service" means service (other than service for the purposes of training only or service for a period in respect of which a cancelling notice has been served)—
(a) in pursuance of any notice or directions given under any enactment which provides for the calling out on permanent service, or the calling into actual service, or the embodiment of, any reserve or auxiliary force, or members of such a force, or the recall of service pensioners;
(b) in pursuance of any obligation or undertaking to serve when called upon as a commissioned officer; or
(c) rendered by virtue of section 14(1) or 34 of the Reserve Forces Act 1980,
and paragraph (b) applies whether or not the obligation or undertaking is legally enforceable, but not in the case of an obligation or undertaking to accept a permanent commission or a commission for a fixed term or to serve for the purposes of periodical training;
“reserve forces pay" in relation to any person, is the total of—
(a) his pay for performing relevant reserve forces service (including marriage, family and similar allowances); and
(b) any payments under Part 5 of the Reserve and Auxiliary Forces (Protection of Civil Interests) Act 1951;
“reserve forces service leave" in relation to a person, means being away from work—
(a) after—
(i) he has left the employment in which he is an active member, or
(ii) he has been granted leave of absence from such an employment,
in order to perform relevant reserve forces service;
(b) without having agreed to receive a return of contributions under regulation 46; and
(c) without having elected that the absence is not to count as such by giving notice in writing to the appropriate administering authority not later than 12 months after the end of the period of relevant reserve forces service to which the notice relates (or within such longer period as the administering authority may allow);
“reserve or auxiliary force" means the whole or part of the Royal Navy Reserve (including the Royal Fleet Reserve), the Royal Marines Reserve, the Territorial Army, the Army Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve or the Royal Auxiliary Air Force; and
“service pensioner" means a person in receipt of a pension (other than a pension awarded in respect of disablement) granted—
(a) in respect of service in the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the regular army and the regular air force or any reserve or auxiliary force which has been called out on permanent service or which has been embodied; or
(b) in respect of that and other service.
Commencement of pensions
50.—(1) The first period for which any retirement pension which is payable immediately on a member leaving any employment is payable begins with the day after the date on which his employment ends.
(2) In the case of a member who leaves local government employment and is not entitled to immediate payment of retirement pension under any of regulations 16 to 20 of the Benefits Regulations and does not make a choice under regulation 30 of those Regulations (choice of early payment of pension), the first period for which any retirement pension is payable begins, unless he asks by notice in writing to his administering authority to defer payment, with his 65th birthday 60th birthday (regulation 15(5) of the LGPS (Transitional Provisions) 2008) (but any such deferral shall not extend beyond the day before his 75th birthday).
(3) The first period for which any retirement pension under regulation 30 of the Benefits Regulations is payable begins with the day on which the member chooses under paragraph (1) of that regulation.
(3A) The first period for which any retirement pension under regulation 30A (choice of payment of pension: pensioner member with deferred benefits) of the Benefits Regulations is payable begins with the day on which the member chooses under paragraph (2) of that regulation. (SI 2010/2090)
(4) The first period for which any retirement pension under regulation 31 (early payment of pension: ill-health) of the Benefits Regulations is payable begins on the date when the member became permanently incapable as determined under regulation 31 of those Regulations.
(5) The first period for which any survivor’s benefits are payable under regulation 24 (survivor benefits: active members), 27 (children’s pensions), 33 (survivor benefits: deferred members), 34 (children’s pensions: deferred members), 36 (survivor benefits: pensioners) or 37(children’s pensions: pensioner members) of the Benefits Regulations on the death of a member begins with the day after the date on which he dies.
(6) A person who is entitled to a retirement pension under regulation 16 (retirement benefits) or 17 (retirement after normal retirement date) of the Benefits Regulations may choose to defer payment until a date no later than the day before his 75th birthday.
(7) He must notify his appropriate administering authority in writing of his choice of date and such notice must be given not less than three months before the beginning of the first period for which the benefit would otherwise be payable.
(8) A person may by notice in writing to his administering authority alter the date specified in a notice referred to in paragraph (7) or in any subsequent notice under this paragraph but any such subsequent notice must be given not less than three months before the date specified in the preceding notice in order for the change of payment date to take effect.
Annual benefit statements
68.—(1) An administering authority must issue an annual benefit statement to each of its active, deferred and pension credit members.
(2) The first such statement must be issued on or before 1st April 2010 and subsequent statements must be issued on or before 1st April in each year after that year.
(3) A statement must contain an illustration of the amount of benefit entitlement, in respect of the rights that may arise under the Scheme, which—
(a) has been accrued by the member at the relevant date; and
(b) in the case of an active member, is capable of being accrued by him if he remains in the Scheme until his
normal retirement ageage 60 (regulation 15(4) of the LGPS (Transitional Provisions) 2008).
(4) The illustration must be calculated—
(a) in the case of active members, on the member’s pay (or, as respects part-time employees, the whole-time equivalent) for the 12 month period ending with the relevant date;
(b) in the case of deferred members, on the member’s final pay; and
(c) in the case of pension credit members, in accordance with regulation 153 of the 1997 Regulations, but with the substitution in paragraph (1) of that regulation of “the relevant date" for “normal benefit age".
(5) The relevant date is—
(a) 31st March before the date that the statement is issued; or
(b) such later date as the authority may choose.
Right to count credited period
84.—(1) Where a transfer value has been accepted under regulation 83, the member may count the credited period as a period of membership for these Regulations.
(2) If the transfer value—
(a) is paid by the trustees or managers of a club scheme and the member has made the request under regulation 83 before the expiry of 12 months beginning with the date he became an active member;
(b) represents all the rights relating to the member in that scheme, and
(c) has been calculated—
(i) in a case where Chapter 4 or 5 applies, in accordance with that Chapter, and
(ii) otherwise, in a manner consistent with that prescribed under the relevant Chapter,
the credited period is the period which, if used to calculate a transfer value to be paid by the Scheme, would produce an amount equal to the transfer value received.
(3) If paragraph (2) does not apply, the credited period must be calculated in a manner consistent with Chapter 4 or 5.
(4) In calculating the credited period under paragraph (3) due allowance must be given for the expected increase in the member’s pensionable pay between the date he became a member (or, if more than twelve months later, the date on which the transfer value is received) and his normal retirement age age 60 (regulation 15(4) of the LGPS (Transitional Provisions) 2008).
(5) The fund authority must give the member a written notice—
(a) stating the period of membership he may count under paragraph (1); and
(b) containing a conspicuous statement giving the address from which further information may be obtained.