Explanatory note
These Regulations supersede the Pensions Increase (Approved Schemes) (National Health Service) Regulations 1972. They provide for payments to certain persons who, having elected to secure their superannuation benefits through schemes which operate by way of insurance policies to produce lump sums or annuities, or both, upon retirement, have retired from or attained age 70 whilst in employment in the National Health Service and would have been eligible for increases under the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 had they been pensionable under the National Health Service superannuation scheme.
The relevant schemes are the Federated Superannuation System for Universities, the Federated Superannuation Scheme for Nurses and Hospital Officers, the arrangements which apply or applied to a Regulations 75(1) optant, and any other scheme approved for this purpose by the Minister for the Civil Service.
The conditions of entitlement combine, with necessary modification, those for a health service pension and those for increases under the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971. The principal conditions (Regulations 4 and the schedule) are that the person—
completed the necessary qualifying service in health service or local government employment or certain types of related employment or the civil service;
would have been entitled to receive payment of a pension had he been subject to the health service scheme; and
has attained the age of 55 years, or is incapacitated, or is a woman who has a dependant.
The payments are based on a notional pension and, where appropriate, a notional lump sum (defined in Regulation 5) corresponding broadly to the pension and any deferred lump sum the person would have received if he had been in the health service scheme and entitled to reckon under that scheme certain service during which he was within the Federated Superannuation System for Universities, the Federated Superannuation Scheme for Nurses and Hospital Officers, the arrangements which apply or applied to a Regulations 75(1) optant, or any other approved scheme.
These Regulations make provisions whereby:—
Payments due to persons who have retired under the National Health Service Reorganisation (Retirement of Senior Officers) Regulations 1974 (which provide for early retirement on enhanced pension terms) or compensation under the National Health Service (Compensation) Regulations 1974 or earlier compensation provisions (which provide compensation for loss of employment or loss or diminution of emoluments) will be increased to take account of the extra service credited under the early retirement or compensation provisions (paragraph 1 of the schedule). Provision is made for that extra service to be disregarded so as to avoid duplicate payments where that extra service is taken into account in the calculation of other benefits that attract increases under the Act of 1971 (Regulation 5).
Extension of the provisions of the Regulations to persons (referred to as Regulation 75(1) optants) who elected to secure their superannuation benefits by continuing to maintain their existing privately arranged insurance policies and to whom the Secretary of State was obligated under Regulation 46(3)(m) of the National Health Service (Superannuation) Regulations 1950 (S.I. 1950/497 (1950 I, p. 1327)) to make payments as a contribution to the maintenance of those policies.
In accordance with section 13(5) of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971, the Regulations provide for the changes in paragraph 5(a) to take effect as from 1st December 1974 and those in paragraph 5(b) to take effect as from 1st March 1975 (Regulation 6).