{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-government-pension-scheme-scotland-amendment-regulations-2024/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-government-pension-scheme-scotland-amendment-regulations-2024/note.json",
  "legislation": "ssi/2024/37",
  "legislation_title": "The Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2024",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-government-pension-scheme-scotland-amendment-regulations-2024",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThe Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2014 (“the 2014 Regulations”) established the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) (“the Scheme”) as a career average revalued earnings scheme in accordance with section 8(2)(a) of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (“the Act”). The Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (“the 2018 Regulations”) consolidated with certain amendments the 2014 Regulations.\nAccording to section 8(4) of the Act, a person’s pensionable earnings under a career average revalued earnings scheme must be revalued each year until the person leaves pensionable service, based upon the revaluation adjustment for the relevant period specified in a Treasury order made under section 9(2) of the Act.\nThese Regulations amend the provisions of the 2018 Regulations in relation to the process of making revaluation adjustments which currently require the revaluation adjustment to be made at the beginning of the Scheme year, meaning that on 1 April each year, members’ pensions are revalued to take account of the impact of inflation over the previous scheme year (1 April to 31 March). Currently, tax liabilities may arise because the timing of the Scheme revaluation process on 1 April is not aligned with HMRC’s process for assessing the annual allowance tax charge under the Finance Act 2004.\nThe overall effect of the changes made by these Regulations to the 2018 Regulations is that the revaluation adjustment is made on 6 April each year, so that the Scheme revaluation is brought into alignment with the HMRC process for assessing the annual allowance tax charge. These Regulations will have no effect on the amount of Scheme benefits to which members are entitled.\nRegulation 3 of these Regulations amends regulations 23 to 27 of the 2018 Regulations in relation to active members, and members who change status within a Scheme year, (by becoming deferred members of the Scheme, or by taking full or flexible retirement).\nThe amendments specify that the revaluation adjustment made to the member’s pension account must take place on the ‘revaluation date’. This change means that the inflation figure used for the revaluation adjustment in the tax year commencing 6 April is the same as the inflation figure used for any tax calculation specified by HMRC for annual allowance purposes, under the Finance Act 2004.\nRegulation 3 of these Regulations also makes consequential changes to the 2018 Regulations, to ensure that the correct figures are used in the calculation of the opening balance for each Scheme year, and to ensure that (depending upon the date within a Scheme year that the member changes status), the opening balance for their deferred, retired or flexible retirement pension account correctly reflects the relevant revaluation adjustment.\nFinally, the amendments to regulations 24, 25 and 27 of the 2018 Regulations made by regulation 3 of these Regulations clarify that in the event an index rate adjustment in accordance with the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 is required to be made on the revaluation date, such index adjustment should be made after the revaluation adjustment.\nRegulation 4 of these Regulations amends regulations 39 and 40 of the 2018 Regulations (in relation to survivor benefits for the partners and children of active members), and makes consequential changes to reflect the fact that the revaluation adjustment is now to take place at the new ‘revaluation date’. The purpose of these changes is to ensure that, notwithstanding the change in the revaluation date, there is no change to the amount of Scheme benefits to which survivors are entitled.\nRegulation 4 ensures firstly that if the person died within the period 1 to 5 April within a Scheme year (ahead of the revaluation date) the survivors of the deceased member receive the correct amount in the year the survivor members account is opened, based upon the pension that the deceased member would have been entitled to receive. Secondly, the amendments ensure that for all deceased active members, the adjustment to the survivor members account at the end of the Scheme year in which the survivor member’s account was opened is adjusted to reflect the correct figures from the start of the next Scheme year, taking account of the change to the revaluation date. Finally, the amendments to regulations 39 and 40 of the 2018 Regulations made by regulation 4 of these Regulations clarify that in the event an index rate adjustment in accordance with the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 is required to be made on the revaluation date, such index adjustment should be made after the revaluation adjustment.\nRegulation 5 of these Regulations amends regulation 41 of the 2018 Regulations in relation to death grants relating to deceased deferred and pension credit members. The purpose of these changes is to ensure that, notwithstanding the change in the revaluation date, there is no change to the amount of Scheme benefits to which survivors are entitled. The changes ensure that for deferred members, where the person died within the period 1 to 5 April within a Scheme year (ahead of the revaluation date), the death grant reflects the correct pension entitlement, factoring in the relevant revaluation adjustment.\nRegulation 6 of these Regulations amends regulations 42 and 43 of the 2018 Regulations in relation to survivor benefits for partners and children of deceased deferred members and similarly to regulation 4, makes consequential changes to reflect the fact that the revaluation adjustment is now to take place at the new ‘revaluation date’. The purpose of these changes is to ensure that, notwithstanding the change in the revaluation date, there is no change to the amount of Scheme benefits to which survivors are entitled. Regulation 6 ensures firstly that if the person left service and died all within the same period 1 to 5 April within a Scheme year (ahead of the revaluation date), or secondly if the person left service, and subsequently died within the period 1 to 5 April in a following Scheme year the survivors receive the correct adjusted amount. Finally, the amendments to regulations 42 and 43 of the 2018 Regulations made by regulation 6 of these Regulations clarify that in the event an index rate adjustment in accordance with the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 is required to be made on the revaluation date, such index adjustment should be made after the revaluation adjustment.\nRegulation 7 of these Regulations amends regulation 44 of the 2018 Regulations in relation to death grants relating to deceased pensioner members, and regulations 45 and 46 of the 2018 regulations relating to survivor benefits in relation to such a member. The changes to regulation 44 of the 2018 Regulations ensure that where the pensioner member died within the period 1 to 5 April within a Scheme year (ahead of the revaluation date), any death grant payable reflects the correct pension entitlement, factoring in the relevant revaluation adjustment. The purpose of these changes is to ensure that, notwithstanding the change in the revaluation date, there is no change to the amount of Scheme benefits to which survivors are entitled. The changes to regulations 45 and 46 of the 2018 Regulations in relation to survivor benefits for partners and children of deceased pensioner members make consequential changes to reflect the fact that the revaluation adjustment is now to take place at the new ‘revaluation date’, similarly to the changes made by Regulation 6 of these Regulations. Finally, the amendments to regulations 45 and 46 of the 2018 Regulations made by regulation 7 of these Regulations clarify that in the event an index rate adjustment in accordance with the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 is required to be made on the revaluation date, such index adjustment should be made after the revaluation adjustment.\nRegulation 8 of these Regulations makes technical amendments to the provisions of regulations 60 and 61 of the 2018 Regulations relating to actuarial valuation of pension funds.\nRegulation 9 of these Regulations amends the definition of “revaluation adjustment” at Schedule 1 of the 2018 Regulations, and inserts a new definition of “revaluation date”, so that the revaluation date is fixed as 6 April which aligns with the start of the tax year, rather than taking place at the end of a tax year.\nA full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, public or voluntary sector is foreseen.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2024/37/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T20:41:52.088434+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}