Explanatory note

Under Article 69 of the Social Security Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1975 as amended, and as modified by Article 69A of that Order, the Department of Finance is required to provide by order for the increase in the rates of public service pensions. The increase is the percentage by which the Department for Communities has, by direction given under the provisions of section 132(1) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, increased the sums referred to in section 132 of that Act. These are the sums which are the additional pensions in long term benefits, namely the additional pension entitlements accruing to employees in respect of earnings after 5th April 1978.

Where the pension began since the last direction given by the Department for Communities the increase is a fraction of the percentage provided for in the latest direction. This usually means that pensions, which have been in payment for less than a year, get a proportionate fraction of the increase. However there was no direction in 2016. Accordingly the provisions of the 1975 Order would require all pensions, which began from the date of the direction in 2015 (6th April 2015) to the date of the 2017 direction (10th April 2017), to receive a proportionate fraction of the increase. The modification in regulation 3 of these Regulations restores the usual position so that pensions beginning before 11th April 2016 will receive the full increase (1%) and only those pensions beginning on or after 11th April 2016 (but before 10th April 2017) will get a proportionate fraction of the increase.