Regulation 16 Additional pension contributions

Subject to paragraph (15), an active member who is paying contributions under regulation 9 (contributions) may enter into arrangements to pay additional pension contributions (“APCs”) by regular contributions in accordance with paragraph (2), and a member who is paying contributions under regulation 10 (temporary reduction in contributions) may do so if the arrangement is to cover a period of absence of the description in regulation 11(4)(b) or (c) (contributions during absence from work)F1, unless the appropriate administering authority determines in any particular case that it would not be practical to allow APCs to be paid by regular contributions.

Where APCs are to be paid by regular contributions, the arrangements mentioned in paragraph (1)—

Subject to paragraph (15), an active member who is paying contributions under regulation 9 (contributions) may enter into arrangements to pay APCs by lump sum contribution in accordance with paragraph (4), and a member who is paying contributions under regulation 10 (temporary reduction in contributions) may do so if the arrangement is to cover a period of absence of the description in regulation 11(4)(b) or (c) (contributions during absence from work).

Where APCs are to be paid by a lump sum contribution, the arrangements mentioned in paragraph (3)—

Where an arrangement is a QAPA, the arrangements must specify that the total amount of additional pension to be credited to the active member’s pension account for the purposes of paragraph (2)(d) or (4)(c) is, subject to paragraphs (5) and (6)—

Where an arrangement is a QAPA, and APCs are to be paid by regular contributions over more than one Scheme year, the amount of additional pension to be credited to the active member’s pension account at the end of each Scheme year for the purposes of paragraph (2)(d) is the proportion of the amount specified in paragraph (4A) which is equal to the amount of extra contribution payable by the member for that Scheme year divided by the total amount of extra contribution payable by the member under the arrangement.

The amount of additional annual pension that is to be credited to the active member's pension accounts pursuant to arrangements under this regulation must not exceed the additional pension limit.

The additional pension limit is £6,500 from 1st April 2014 and that figure is increased on 1st April 2015, and each subsequent 1st April, by the amount (where it is greater than zero) by which it would be increased if it were a pension beginning on 1st April 2013 to which the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 M1 applied.

F3Subject to paragraph (8A), the amount of the contributions to be paid in respect of arrangements under this regulation is to be determined in accordance with actuarial guidance issued by the Secretary of State based on—

Actuarial guidance issued by the Secretary of State under paragraph (7) may be revised at any time and if so, from the 1st April following any such revision, any contributions payable are to be based on the revised actuarial guidance.

Where an arrangement is a QAPA, the amount of the contributions to be paid in respect of that arrangement under this regulation is the total of—

An application by an active member to make arrangements under this regulation must—

F5Subject to paragraph (10A), an administering authority may require an active member to produce a report by a registered medical practitioner of the results of a medical examination, undertaken at the member's own expense, and may refuse an application to make arrangements under paragraphs (1) to (4) if that authority is not satisfied that the member is in reasonably good health.

Paragraph (10) does not apply in respect of an application by a member to enter into a QAPA.

Arrangements made under paragraph (1) continue until any of the following occurs—

F9Subject to paragraph (12A), if arrangements entered into under paragraph (1) terminate for any reason and new arrangements are entered into under that paragraph, the amount of contributions payable is determined under paragraph (7) in accordance with the age of the member at the date the new arrangements are entered into and the actuarial guidance issued by the Secretary of State in force at that date.

Paragraph (12) does not apply in respect of a QAPA.

If additional contributions are paid in accordance with arrangements made under this regulation, and are not refunded under regulation 18 (rights to return of contributions), that member's active member's pension account must be credited with the amount specified in those arrangements as additional pension at the end of the Scheme year in which the contributions are paid, or at the date the arrangements terminate, if earlier.

If a member who is paying APCs is granted Tier 1 or Tier 2 benefits in relation to the pension account to which the arrangements are attached before the end of the period the arrangements made under paragraph (1) were due to cease (“the APC period”), that member is to be treated as having paid the contributions required from the date the member is granted Tier 1 or Tier 2 benefits, up to the end of the APC period and the additional pension bought by those contributions is to be included in the active member's pension account for the year of leaving.

If a member fails to pay all the additional contributions due under arrangements made under paragraph (1), and paragraph (14) does not apply to that member, the member's active member pension account must be credited with additional pension of an amount calculated in accordance with actuarial guidance issued by the Secretary of State.

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Where an active member to whom regulation 11(4) applies (contributions during absence from work) has an arrangement under this regulation which was entered into prior to the commencement of the period of absence, the APCs under that arrangement—