Citation, extent and commencement

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2010.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales( 2 ).

(3) These Regulations shall come into force on 30th March 2010.

Amendment of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Benefits, Membership and Contributions) Regulations 2007

2.The Local Government Pension Scheme (Benefits, Membership and Contributions) Regulations 2007( 3 ) are amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 7.

3. In regulation 4 (meaning of pensionable pay)( 4 )—

(a) for paragraph (2)(f) substitute—

“ (f) the amount of any supplement paid—

(i) by the Environment Agency ( 5 ) ; or

(ii) to an employee whose employment is transferred on 1st April 2010, under a staff transfer scheme, from the Learning and Skills Council for England to a local authority or to London Councils Limited ( 6 ) ,

in recognition of the difference in contribution rates between members of the principal civil service pension scheme ( 7 ) and the Scheme; or ” ; and

(b) after paragraph (3), add—

“ (4) In this regulation “local authority” has the same meaning as in regulation 16A. ” .

4. In regulation 5 (benefits)( 8 ), in paragraph (1)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (a), omit “or”; and

(b) in sub-paragraph (b), for “to him” substitute “to him; or”; and

(c) after sub-paragraph (b), insert—

“ (c) regulation 88 (bulk transfers in) of the Administration Regulations applies to him. ” .

5. In regulation 6 (periods of membership)( 9 ), in sub-paragraph (c), for “87”, substitute “88”.

6. In regulation 16 (retirement benefits), for paragraph (2), substitute—

“ (2) Subject to regulation 16A, the normal retirement age of the Scheme is 65. ” .

7. After regulation 16 insert—

“ Normal retirement age: staff of the Learning and Skills Council for England

16A. —(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the normal retirement age of a person to whom this regulation applies is 60 and—

(a) regulations 16, 20, 29 and 31 shall be construed accordingly;

(b) references to 55 in regulations 18(1) and 30(1) (but not in regulation 19(1)) shall be construed as references to 50 (“the age 50 protections”); and

(c) references to 65th birthday in regulations 18(2) and 20(14) (but not in regulation 17(1)) shall be construed as references to 60th birthday.

(2) Any increases and enhancements under regulations 14(2) and 29(5) ( 10 ) shall not apply to such a person in relation to benefits coming into payment before the age of 65.

(3) Regulation 30(2) shall not apply to such a person.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), this regulation applies to a person who on 31st March 2010, is an employee of the Learning and Skills Council for England (“ LSC ”), and who on that date—

(a) is an active member of the 1972 Section or the 2002 Section of the principal civil service pension scheme (“ PCSPS ”), or is eligible to join one of those Sections;

(b) ceases to be a member of the PCSPS as a consequence of being named in a staff transfer scheme, providing for the transfer of their employment on 1st April 2010 from the LSC to a local authority or to London Councils Limited; and

(c) on 1st April 2010 becomes an active member of the Scheme.

(5) The age 50 protections and paragraph (3) shall only apply if the person either—

(a) became an active member of the 1972 Section or the 2002 Section of the PCSPS before 6th April 2006;

(b) became an active member of the 1972 Section of the PCSPS after 5th April 2006, and rule 3.10aa (termination of pensionable service on resignation or option out of the scheme) of that Section did not apply to such a person; or

(c) became an active member of the 2002 Section of the PCSPS after 5th April 2006, and paragraph (3) of rule D.3 (early payment of pensions with actuarial reduction) of that Section applied to such a person.

(6) In this regulation—

(a) (i) subject to sub-paragraph (ii), “local authority” has the same meaning as in section 579(1) of the Education Act 1996 ( 11 ) ; but

(ii) until an order under section 162 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 ( 12 ) (power to replace statutory references to local education authorities with references to local authorities) comes into force, “local authority”, means “local education authority” and “local education authority” shall be construed in accordance with section 12 of the Education Act 1996.

(b) “the principal civil service pension scheme (“PCSPS”)” has the same meaning as in section 2(10) of the Superannuation Act 1972;

(c) “the 1972 Section” means Section II of the PCSPS; and

(d) “the 2002 Section” means Section 1 of the PCSPS. ” .

8. After regulation 18 (flexible retirement)( 13 ), insert—

“ Flexible retirement: staff of the Learning and Skills Council for England

18A. —(1) In relation to a person to whom this regulation applies, paragraph (1), of regulation 18 shall apply as if, for the words “and such benefits may, with his employer’s consent be paid” there were substituted “and such benefits shall be paid”.

(2) This regulation applies to a person who on 31st March 2010, is an employee of the Learning and Skills Council for England (“LSC”), and who on that date—

(a) is an active member of the 1972 Section or the 2002 Section of the principal civil service pension scheme (“PCSPS”), or is eligible to join one of those Sections;

(b) ceases to be a member of the PCSPS as a consequence of being named in a staff transfer scheme, providing for the transfer of their employment on 1st April 2010 from the LSC to a local authority or to London Councils Limited ( 14 ) ; and

(c) on 1st April 2010 becomes an active member of the Scheme.

(3) In this regulation “local authority”, “the principal civil service pension scheme (“PCSPS”)”, “the 1972 Section” and “the 2002 Section” have the same meaning as in regulation 16A. ” .

9. In regulation 19 (early leavers: inefficiency and redundancy), in paragraph (2) for “before 31st March 2010” substitute “before 1st April 2010”.

Amendment of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Administration) Regulations 2008

10.The Local Government Pension Scheme (Administration) Regulations 2008( 15 ) are amended in accordance with regulations 11 to 13.

11. After regulation 87 (changes of fund and variable time employees), add—

“ Part 10 Special cases

Bulk transfers in: the Learning and Skills Council for England

88. —(1) This regulation applies to a person who on 31st March 2010, is in the employment of the Learning and Skills Council for England (“LSC”), and—

(a) is an active member of the principal civil service pension scheme (“PCSPS”) ( 16 ) ;

(b) ceases to be a member of the PCSPS as a consequence of being named in a staff transfer scheme, providing for the transfer of his or her employment on 1st April 2010, from the LSC to a local authority or to London Councils Limited ( 17 ) ;

(c) on 1st April 2010 becomes an active member of the Scheme ; and

(d) opts to transfer his or her accrued rights from the PCSPS to the Scheme under special transfer arrangements.

(2) The actuaries representing the PCSPS and the actuaries representing the appropriate administering authorities shall agree—

(a) the transfer value payment in respect of a person to whom this regulation applies; and

(b) the special transfer arrangements mentioned in paragraph ((1)(d).

(3) In this regulation—

(a) subject to paragraph (b), “local authority” has the same meaning as in section 579(1) of the Education Act 1996 ( 18 ) ; but

(b) until an order under section 162 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 ( 19 ) (power to replace statutory references to local education authorities with references to local authorities) comes into force, “local authority”, means “local education authority” and “local education authority” shall be construed in accordance with section 12 of the Education Act.

Former staff of the Learning and Skills Council for England

89. Except for the purposes of regulation 84(4), the normal retirement age of a person to whom regulation 16A of the Benefits Regulations (normal retirement age: staff of the Learning and Skills Council for England), applies is 60; and—

(a) regulations 19(7), 23(4) and 68(3) shall be construed accordingly; and

(b) in regulation 50(2) the reference to 65th birthday shall be construed as a reference to 60th birthday. ” .

12. In Schedule 1, for the definition of “normal retirement age”, substitute—

“ “Normal retirement age”, except in regulation 89, is 65. ” .

13. After Note 6 to the Table in Part 2 of Schedule 4, insert—

“ Part 3 Appropriate funds: probation trusts

1. This paragraph applies to—

(a) any deferred or pensioner member affected on or after 1st April 2010, by the abolition of a local probation board (“ LPB ”); and

(b) any active member who transfers on or after 1st April 2010 to a probation trust in accordance with a staff transfer scheme made under Schedule 2 to the Offender Management Act 2007 ( 20 ) .

2. —(1) These Regulations apply to a member to whom paragraph 1 applies (“a LPB member”) subject to the modifications to regulation 30 (appropriate funds) set out in sub-paragraph (2).

(2) For paragraph (1) of regulation 30, substitute—

“ (1) The appropriate fund for a LPB member or a person who is entitled to any benefit in respect of a person who has been a LPB member is—

(a) in the case of an active member, the fund identified by applying paragraph 8 of the Table in Part 1 of Schedule 4;

(b) in the case of a deferred or pensioner member, the fund managed by the administering authority for the probation trust to which that member would have transferred had the member not ceased to be an active member before 1st April 2010;

(c) in the case of a person who is entitled under the Benefits Regulations in respect of a LPB member, the fund managed by the administering authority for the probation trust to which that member would have transferred had the member not ceased to be an active member before 1st April 2010. ” .

3. Where the effect of a modification under paragraph 2 is that an administering authority ceases to manage a LPB member’s appropriate fund, regulation 86 (changes of fund) shall apply in respect of a deferred or pensioner member as it applies in respect of an active member. ” .