The Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2014
2014No. 164
PUBLIC SERVICE PENSIONS
The Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2014
5thJune2014
9thJune2014
The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1 of the Public Services Pensions Act 2013( 1) and all other powers enabling them to do so.
In accordance with section 21 of that Act, the Scottish Ministers consulted the representatives of such persons as appeared to the Scottish Ministers likely to be affected by these Regulations.
PART 1
Membership, contributions and benefits
Preliminary Provisions
Citation, commencement and extent
1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2014 and save as is mentioned in paragraph (2), come into force on 1st April 2015.
(2) Regulation 2(3) and the definition of "actuarial guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers" in Schedule 1 (which require the Scottish Ministers to consult the Scheme Actuary before issuing actuarial guidance) come into force on 1st November 2014 for the purpose of enabling the Scottish Ministers to consult the Scheme Actuary and to issue guidance to have effect from 1st April 2015.
(3) These Regulations extend to Scotland.
Introductory
2. (1) These Regulations establish a scheme for the payment of pensions and other benefits to or in respect of persons working in local government service, referred to in these Regulations as "the Scheme".
(2) The Scheme manager responsible for the local administration of pensions and other benefits payable under these Regulations is referred to in these Regulations as the "administering authority".
(3) The Scottish Ministers may, after consultation with the Scheme Actuary, issue actuarial guidance to administering authorities.
(4) Schedule 1 (interpretation) contains definitions of expressions used in these Regulations which apply for their interpretation unless the context indicates that they have a different meaning.
Membership
Active membership
3. (1) Subject to regulation 4, a person is eligible to be an active member of the Scheme in an employment-
(a) if employed by a body listed in Part 1 of Schedule 2;(b) if employed by an admission body and designated, or belonging to a class of employees that is designated by the body under the terms of an admission agreement, as being eligible for membership of the Scheme;(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a person eligible to be an active member of the Scheme in an employment becomes an active member on the day that person's employment begins or (if later) the day the person becomes eligible for membership.
(3) A person who would, apart from this paragraph, be an active member of the Scheme by virtue of paragraph (2) who is employed under a contract of employment of less than three months does not become a member on the day specified in paragraph (2) but becomes an active member-
(a) on the member's automatic enrolment date,(b) on the first day of the payment period following an application to become a member, or(c) on the first day of the payment period following an extension to the contract of employment to be for three months or morewhichever is the earliest.
(4) Where an administering authority enters into an admission agreement with an admission body-
(a) the admission agreement must comply with the requirements specified in paragraphs 3 to 12 of Part 2 of Schedule 2; and(b) these Regulations apply to the admission body and to employment with the admission body in the same way as if the admission body were a Scheme employer listed in Part 1 of Schedule 2.(5) A person who is eligible to be an active member in an employment, but who is not an active member in that employment-
(a) may apply in writing to the person's Scheme employer to join the Scheme, and becomes an active member in that employment on the first day of the payment period following the application; but in any event,(b) becomes an active member in an employment on the automatic enrolment date or automatic re-enrolment date relating to that employment.(6) Subject to paragraph (7) and regulation 5(6) (person whose membership is less than three months treated as never having been a member), an active member has qualifying service for a period of two years if-
(a) that member has spent two years as an active member;(b) a transfer value payment has been received in respect of rights accrued in a different occupational pension scheme or under a European pensions institution and the length of service in respect of which that person accrued benefits in that scheme was two or more years;(c) the aggregate of the period the person has spent as an active member of the Scheme and of a different occupational pension scheme or European pensions institution in respect of which a transfer value payment has been accepted, is two years;(d) a transfer value payment has been received in respect of rights accrued in a scheme or arrangement that does not permit a refund of contributions to the member;(e) the member has paid National Insurance contributions whilst an active member and ceases active membership after the end of the tax year preceding that in which the member attains pensionable age;(f) the member already holds a deferred benefit or is in receipt of a pension (other than a survivor's pension or pension credit member's pension) under these Regulations;(g) a transfer value payment has been received from a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme;(h) the member ceases active membership at age 75; or(i) the member dies in service.(7) The following periods do not count as periods of qualifying service for the purposes of these Regulations-
(a) any period for which contributions have been returned to the member;(b) any period of membership derived from a non-contributory pension scheme or arrangement from which a transfer payment has been received and which is attached to the membership in respect of which contributions have been returned under regulation 18 (rights to return of contributions).(c) any period in respect of which rights have been transferred to another registered pension scheme other than a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme;(d) any period in respect of which the member has been deprived of benefits under regulation 89 (forfeiture of pension rights after conviction for employment-related offences).Restriction on eligibility for active membership
4. (1) Subject to paragraph (5) if a person's employment entitles the person to belong to another public service pension scheme, or would so entitle them were it not for their age, that employment does not entitle the person to be a member, unless that other scheme was made under section 7 of the Superannuation Act 1972( 2).
(2) An employee of an admission body may not be a member if the employee is a member of another occupational pension scheme in relation to the employment in respect of which that employee would otherwise be eligible to be a member of the Scheme under regulation 3 .
(3) A person may not become or remain a member after the day before the person's 75th birthday.
(4) Part-time employment as an employee of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on terms under which the retained or voluntary member is or may be required to engage in fire fighting does not entitle the member to be a member of the Scheme.
(5) A person may be a member of the Scheme despite being entitled to be a member of the National Health Service Pension Scheme for Scotland ("the NHS Scheme")( 3) if-
(a) that person's entitlement to be a member of the NHS Scheme is by reason of the person's employment by an NHS Scheme employing authority as a result of a prescribed arrangement under section 15 of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 (delegation etc. between local authorities and NHS bodies);(b) the person is specified in, or within a class of employees specified in, an admission agreement made between an administering authority and an NHS Scheme employing authority; and(c) the person was an active member of the scheme immediately before that person's employment by the NHS Scheme employing authority.Ending active membership
5. (1) A person stops being a member in an employment if the person stops being eligible for membership in that employment.
(2) A person who wishes to leave the Scheme must notify his or her employer in writing.
(3) A person with more than one employment may leave the Scheme if the person wishes in respect of one, some or all of the employments.
(4) A member who gives notice under paragraph (2) stops being a member in the specified employment from the date the notification specifies.
(5) But, if a date earlier than the notification or no date is specified, the member stops being a member at the end of the payment period during which the notification is given.
(6) Where notice is given by a person before that person has been a member for three months, that person must be treated as not having been a member in that period.
Deferred members
6. (1) A person is a deferred member of the Scheme in relation to an employment if-
(a) the person has qualifying service for a period of at least two years; and(b) the person is no longer an active member in relation to that employment; and(c) the person has not started to receive any pension under the Scheme in relation to that employment; and(d) the person has not reached the age of 75.(2) A person may be a deferred member of the Scheme in relation to one period of membership notwithstanding the fact that the same person is a member in the same or a different category in relation to a different period of membership.
Pensioner members
7. (1) A person is a pensioner member of the Scheme if that person-
(a) was an active member; or(b) was a pension credit member, or(c) was a deferred memberand is in receipt of a benefit from the Scheme relating to that membership.
(2) A person may be a pensioner member in relation to one period of...
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