# The National Health Service Pension Schemes (Amendment) Regulations 2023, Note: Explanatory note

Extent: E+W

(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations further amend the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/300) (“the 1995 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 2015 Transitional Regulations”) and make temporary modifications of certain member contributions provisions in the 2015 Regulations.
These regulations come into force on 1st April 2023.
Regulations 3, 4, 5 and 6 amend the 1995 Regulations to permanently remove the ‘16 hour rule’, which requires a member’s pension benefits to be suspended if they return to NHS employment and commit to more than 16 hours per week within one month of the pension becoming payable.
Regulations 9 and 10 amend the 2015 Regulations to update member contribution provisions to reflect the start of scheme year 2023/24. Regulation 10 also updates table 1 in regulation 31 (members’ contributions: practitioners and non-GP providers), which sets out the historic pensionable earnings bands and contribution rates, to reflect scheme year 2022/23.
Regulations 14 and 17, amend the 2015 Regulations to ensure that the correct figure and enforcement date in the annual Treasury order made under section 9 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (c. 25) are used in respect of the 2015 Regulations, following planned forthcoming amendment of the order.
Regulations 8, 11, 15, 16, 18 and 19 make provision for scheme access with regards to practitioners and employees working as part of primary care networks.
Regulations 21 and 22 amend the 2015 Transitional Regulations, to allow certain 1995 Scheme pensioners to join the 2015 Scheme and to receive the correct lump sum for death in service.
Part 5 makes temporary modifications to the 2015 Regulations to ensure that the member contributions reconciliation provisions for medical practitioners, non-GP providers and dental practitioners for scheme year 2022/23 reflects the mid-scheme year contribution rate change which came into force on 1st October 2022. These temporary modifications apply until the end of 31st March 2024.
Regulations 12 and 13 correct pre-existing errors in the 2015 Regulations.
A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/301/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/national-health-service-pension-schemes-amendment-regulations-2023/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.