Explanatory note

These Regulations amend National Health Service pension scheme instruments in consequence of provision made by the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 (c. 7). They further amend the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/300) (“the 1995 Regulations”), the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/653) (“the 2008 Regulations”), the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/94) (“the 2015 Regulations”) and the National Health Service Pension Scheme (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/95) (“the Transitional Regulations”). The amendments ensure that the pension schemes established by the 1995 Regulations (“the 1995 Section”) and the 2008 Regulations (“the 2008 Section”) will, except for limited purposes, be closed to the accrual of pension benefits on and after 1st April 2022 and that any members currently in pensionable service under those pension schemes will, on that date, begin accruing benefits in the scheme established by the 2015 Regulations.

Regulation 2 amends the 1995 Regulations to make it clear on the face of those Regulations that the further contribution to or accrual of pensionable service after 31st March 2022 by members who had been allowed to remain after 31st March 2015 in the 1995 Section is prohibited and the transitional protections introduced for those members on 1st April 2015 apply only in respect of service before 1st April 2022. Regulation 3 amends the 2008 Regulations for the same purpose and in an equivalent way in relation to members who had been allowed to remain after 31st March 2015 in the 2008 Section.

In this note, reference to the “the legacy scheme” includes the 1995 Section and the 2008 Section and reference to “the new scheme” is a reference to the pension scheme established by the 2015 Regulations.

Regulation 4 amends the 2015 Regulations so that members of the legacy scheme (other than pensioners) whose accrual of pensionable service ceased in that scheme on 31st March 2022 are eligible to join the new scheme from 1st April 2022.

Regulation 5 amends the Transitional Regulations, which apply to persons who are members of the legacy scheme and the new scheme.

Paragraphs (2) and (3) amend regulations relating to the setting of contribution rates for the scheme year commencing 1st April 2022. Paragraph (2) amends the regulation applicable to employed members of the new scheme to provide that where the member’s contribution rate is to be set by reference to that member’s pensionable earnings during a previous scheme year, those earnings can be derived from the member’s service in the legacy scheme. Paragraph (3) amends the regulation applicable to self-employed practitioners and non-GP providers to provide that where the member’s contribution rate is to be set by reference to that member’s most recently certified or final pensionable earnings, those earnings can be also derived from the member’s service in the legacy scheme.

Paragraph (4) amends the regulation relating to the uprating of the earnings of practitioners who are members of the legacy scheme and the new scheme so that it applies after such a member joins the new scheme on or after 1st April 2022.

Paragraph (5) amends the regulation which provides for members of the 1995 Section to elect to take benefits derived from additional voluntary contributions at their chosen birthday without having to retire so that it also allows for elections by reference to the date on which the member joins the new scheme in circumstances where members have passed or are near to their chosen birthday on that date.

Paragraphs (6) and (7) amend the regulations which set out transitional arrangements relating to ill-health benefits to ensure that legacy members and their dependants are not placed in a less beneficial position than they would have been in had the outcome of their application been determined under legacy scheme criteria and their retirement on ill-health grounds had taken place before the closure of the legacy scheme on 31st March 2022.

Paragraph (10)(a) and (b)(ii) adds to the groups of legacy scheme pensioners set out in Schedule 1 so that re-employed pensioners no longer able to accrue benefits in that scheme from 1st April 2022 are eligible to join the new scheme from that date. Paragraph (8) amends the regulation which provides for which of the pensioner groups set out in Schedule 1 are entitled to a lump sum death benefit different from the one otherwise provided to active members of the new scheme by adding the relevant new groups inserted by paragraph (10)(a) and (b)(ii).

Paragraphs (6)(a)(iii)(aa) and (iv)(aa), (b)(ii)(aa) and (c)(ii), (9) and (10)(b)(i) correct pre-existing errors in the Transitional Regulations.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument.