# The Local Government Superannuation (Scotland) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 1997, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make provision in relation to the Local Government Superannuation (Scotland) Scheme constituted under the Local Government Superannuation (Scotland) Regulations 1987 (“the principal Regulations”). They deal with transfer on 1st September or 1st December 1996 to local government employment from the National Health Service of persons who are engaged, in a non-teaching capacity, in the training of nursing staff and who were, or were eligible to be, in pensionable employment under the National Health Service Superannuation Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 1995 at the date of transfer. The Regulations have retrospective effect, as authorised by section 12(1) of the Superannuation Act 1972.
Regulations 2 and 3 add new regulation G6 and Schedule 16B to the principal Regulations. They protect the pensions position of eligible staff leaving the National Health Service Superannuation Scheme (“the NHSSS”) and joining, or transferring accrued rights to, the Local Government Superannuation Scheme (“the LGSS”) on 1st September 1996, or in the case of staff moving to The Robert Gordon University, on 1st December 1996.
The main amendments provide that–
(a) members of the NHSSS (or those eligible to be members) joining the LGSS will retain the right to retire at age 60 with no actuarial reduction to pension derived from their relevant local government employment and transferred service even where they have less than 25 years actual membership of the LGSS. (“Relevant local government employment” is defined in regulation G6(4) broadly to cover continuous pensionable employment in the institution to which the person transferred or in another institution, in either of which the person is continuously engaged in the work of an undertaking transferred to that institution as mentioned in regulation G6(1)(b));
(b) periods which under the NHSSS could be counted for the purpose only of determining entitlement to benefit will count for the same purpose under the LGSS;
(c) where a person opts to preserve his accrued NHSSS service he will nonetheless be entitled to treat such service as reckonable service for the purpose of early retirement on grounds of ill-health;
(d) members of the NHSSS (or those eligible to be members) joining the LGSS will retain the right to take actuarially reduced pensions in respect of relevant local government employment (and any service transferred from the NHSSS) on leaving that employment aged 50 or over. The factors used in calculating the pensions will be determined by the Government Actuary’s Department;
(e) contracts for purchase of added years of service under the NHSSS and the in-house additional voluntary contributions scheme for members of the NHSSS will, for so long as the persons concerned are in relevant local government employment, be continued at no disadvantage to the individuals;
(f) where a person gets to preserve his accrued NHSSS service he will nonetheless be entitled to treat such service as a period of pensionable employment under the LGSS for the purpose of calculating his pensionable remuneration.
Regulation 4 makes provision for calculating transfer values to the LGSS from the NHSSS in respect of members whose employment transfers. Where a transfer value in respect of accrued NHSSS service has been requested by an eligible person within the appropriate time limits (whether in bulk or individual terms), the transfer value will be calculated so as to provide year for year service credit in the LGSS.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/1435/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/local-government-superannuation-scotland-amendment-no-3-regulations-1997/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.