The Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2018

In these Regulations—

“active member” means a person who is in an employment, and—

(a)

paying contributions to the Scheme; or

(b)

treated as paying contributions to the Scheme; and for this purpose a person who is “in an employment” includes a person who is absent from that employment for one of the reasons mentioned in regulation 11 and “active membership” is construed accordingly;

“actuarial guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers” means guidance identified by the Scottish Ministers as such which has been issued in accordance with regulation 2(3);

“additional maternity or adoption leave” means leave under section 73 or 75B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 M1 ;

“additional paternity leave” means leave under the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 M2 ;

“additional pension” means pension under these Regulations other than earned pension;

“administering authority” means a body listed in schedule 3 which is required to maintain a fund for the purposes of these Regulations;

“admission agreement” means an agreement between an administering authority and an admission body that named individuals, or all or any specified class of the admission body's employees, may be members of the Scheme;

“admission body” means a body listed in paragraph 1 of Part 2 of schedule 2;

“amount of accrued pension” means the earned pension in a member's pension account adjusted to take account of any revaluation adjustment applicable;

“amount of pension payable” means the earned pension and additional pension in a member's pension account adjusted to take account of any revaluation adjustment, index rate adjustment, commutation amount or pension account adjustment applicable;

“annual allowance charge” has the meaning given to that expression by section 227 of the Finance Act 2004 M3 ;

“assumed pensionable pay” has the meaning given by regulation 21;

“automatic enrolment date” means the automatic enrolment date within the meaning of section 3 of the Pensions Act 2008 M4 ;

“automatic re-enrolment date” means—

(a)

for the purposes of regulation 3(5)(b), the automatic re-enrolment date chosen by a member's employer in accordance with section 5 of the Pensions Act 2008 and regulation 12 of the Occupational and Personal Pensions Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations 2010 M5 for those of its eligible jobholders who are not active members; and

(b)

for the purposes of regulation 10(5)(a), the automatic re-enrolment date chosen by a member's employer in accordance with section 5 of the Pensions Act 2008 and regulation 12 of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations 2010 for those of its eligible employees who are not active members (or the date the employer would have chosen if the employer did not have any such employees);

“AVC” has the meaning given by regulation 17;

“base rate” means the base rate for the time being quoted by the reference banks or, where there is for the time being more than one such base rate, the rate which, when the base rate quoted by each bank is ranked in a descending sequence of seven, is fourth in the sequence;

“benefit crystallisation event” has the meaning given by section 216 of the Finance Act 2004 M6 ;

“child-related leave” means—

(a)

ordinary adoption leave;

(b)

ordinary maternity leave;

(c)

additional maternity or adoption leave during which the member receives some pensionable pay;

(d)

paternity leave;

(e)

additional paternity leave; F1 ...

(f)

shared parental leave during which the member receives some pensionable pay; [F2 or

(g)

parental bereavement leave during which the member receives some pensionable pay]

“children's pension” means a pension payable to an eligible child in accordance with regulation 40, 43 or 46;

“Club Memorandum” means the current memorandum published by the Cabinet Office under the title “The Public Sector Transfer Club – memorandum by the Cabinet Office”M7 ;

“Club Transfer” means a transfer of employment between members of the Public Sector Transfer Club;

“cohabiting partner” means a person whom the appropriate administering authority is satisfied fulfils the following conditions—

(a)

the person (P) has fulfilled the condition in paragraph [F3 (b)(i), and the conditions in (b)(ii) to (iv)] for a continuous period of at least 2 years on the date the member (M) died; and

(b)

the condition is that—

(i)

M is able to marry or form a civil partnership with P;

(ii)

M and P are living together as if they were a married couple or as if they were civil partners;

(iii)

neither M nor P is living with a third person as if they were a married couple or as if they were civil partners; and

(iv)

either P is financially dependent on M, or M and P are financially interdependent;

“commutation amount” means the amount of pension a member has elected to give up in return for a lump sum in accordance with regulation 32;

“deferred member” has the meaning given by regulation 6;

“deferred payment enhancement” means the amount by which a member's pension is increased pursuant to regulation 29(5) or (12);

“dependant” in relation to a person means that in the opinion of the administering authority, at the date of the member's death—

(a)

the person was financially dependent on the member;

(b)

the person's financial relationship with the member was one of mutual dependence; or

(c)

the person was dependent on the member because of the person's physical or mental impairment;

[F4 “Earlier Schemes” has the meaning in regulation 1(4) of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Transitional Provisions and Savings) (Scotland) Regulations 2014 (S.S.I. 2014/233);]

“early payment reduction” means the amount by which a member's entitlement is reduced pursuant to regulation 29(6), (7) or (13);

“earned pension” means pension accrued from the member's pensionable pay pursuant to regulation 23(4) or (5) or credited pursuant to regulation 96(1) (effect of acceptance of transfer value);

“eligible child”, in relation to a deceased member, means—

(a)

a natural or adopted child of a member who meets any of conditions A to C and who was born before, on, or in the case of a natural child, within 12 months of the member's death; or

(b)

a step-child or child accepted by the deceased as a member of the family (excluding a child sponsored by the member through a registered charity) who—

(i)

meets any of conditions A to C; and

(ii)

was dependent on the member at the date of the member's death.

Condition A is that the person is aged under 18.

Condition B is that the person is in full-time education or vocational training and has not reached the age of 23 (but an administering authority may continue to treat a person as fulfilling Condition B notwithstanding any break in a course of education or vocational training, although the person does not fulfil Condition B during such a break).

Condition C is that the person is unable to engage in gainful employment because of physical or mental impairment and either—

(a)

has not reached the age of 23; or

(b)

the impairment is in the opinion of an IRMP likely to be permanent and the person was dependent on the member at the date of the member's death because of that physical or mental impairment;

“employment” for the purposes of these Regulations only shall include holding an office, and related expressions are construed accordingly;

“enactment” has the same meaning as in section 126(1) of the Scotland Act 1998 M8 ;

“European pensions institution” has the same meaning as in section 293(8) of the Pensions Act 2004 M9 ;

[F5 “final guarantee amount” has the meaning given in regulation 1(4) of the Transitional Provisions and Savings Regulations 2014;]

“gainful employment” means paid employment for not less than 30 hours in each week for a period of not less than 12 months;

“the Governance Regulations” means the Local Government Pension Scheme (Governance) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 M10 ;

“index rate adjustment” means the percentage increase that would apply if the balance in the member's account were a pension in payment eligible for increase under the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 M11 ;

“IRMP” means an independent registered medical practitioner who is registered with the General Medical Council and—

(a)

holds a diploma in occupational health medicine (D Occ Med) or an equivalent qualification issued by a competent authority in an EEA state; and for the purposes of this definition, “competent authority” has the meaning given by section 55(1) of the Medical Act 1983 M12 ; or

(b)

is an Associate, a Member or a Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine or an equivalent institution of an EEA state;

“joint liability amount” has the meaning given to that expression by section 237B(3) of the Finance Act 2004 M13 ;

“membership” is to be construed in accordance with section 124(1) of the Pensions Act 1995 M14 ;

“non-contractual overtime” means overtime (above the hours of the standard full-time working week) that the employee (part-time or full time) is not contracted to work;

“normal pension age” means the pensionable age of a person as specified from time to time in schedule 4 of the Pensions Act 1995, or if higher, age 65;

“occupational pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 M15 ;

“ordinary adoption leave” means leave under section 75A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 M16 ;

“ordinary maternity leave” means leave under section 71 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 M17 ;

[F6 “parental bereavement leave” means leave under the Parental Bereavement Leave Regulations 2020;]

“partner” means a spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner;

“paternity leave” means leave under regulation 4 or 8 of the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002 M18 ;

“payment period” means a period of service to which an employee's wages or salary payments relate;

“pensionable age” has the meaning given in section 181 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993;

“pensionable pay” has the meaning given by regulation 20 but if the circumstances specified in regulation 21(2) apply, references in these Regulations to a member's pensionable pay are references to that member's assumed pensionable pay;

“pension account” means an account of a description in regulation 22(3)(b);

“pension credit” means a credit under section 29(1)(b) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 M19 ;

“pension credit member” has the meaning given by regulation 8(1);

“pension debit” means a debit under section 29(1)(a) of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999;

“pensioner member” has the meaning given by regulation 7(1);

“pension board” means a board or committee established by an administering authority to discharge functions under regulation 5 (pension boards) of the Governance Regulations;

“pension sharing order” means any provision or order specified in section 28 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999;

“permanently incapable” refers to the member being incapable until at the earliest the member's normal pension age;

[F7 “PSPJOA 2022” means the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022;]

“public service pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 M20 ;

“Public Sector Transfer Club” means the arrangements approved by the Secretary of State and detailed in the Club Memorandum as providing reciprocal arrangements between the Scheme and other registered occupational pension schemes for making and receiving transfer value payments;

“qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 169(2) of the Finance Act 2004 M21 ;

“qualifying service for a period of 2 years” has the meaning given by regulation 3(6);

“reference banks” means the seven largest persons for the time being who—

(a)

have permission under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 M22 to accept deposits;

(b)

are incorporated in the United Kingdom and carry on there a regulated activity of accepting deposits; and

(c)

quote a base rate in sterling,

and, for the purposes of this definition, the size of the person at any time is to be determined by reference to the gross assets denominated in sterling of that person, together with any subsidiary (as defined in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006 M23 ), as shown in the audited end-of-year accounts last published before that time;

“registered pension scheme” has the same meaning as in section 150(2) of the Finance Act 2004;

“reserve forces pay” means the total of—

(a)

pay for performing relevant reserve forces service (including marriage, family and similar allowances); and

(b)

any payments under Part 5 of the Reserve and Auxiliary Forces (Protection of Civil Interests) Act 1951 M24 ;

“reserve forces service leave” means absence from duty because of being called out or recalled for permanent service in Her Majesty's armed forces pursuant to a call-out notice served, or a call-out or recall order made, under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 M25 ;

“retirement pension” includes earned pension and additional pension;

“revaluation adjustment” means—

(a)

in the case of a balance transferred under a Club Transfer, the revaluation adjustment that would have applied to that balance if it had not been transferred; and

(b)

in any other case the percentage specified as the change in prices in the relevant Treasury order made under section 9(2) of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 which is to be applied to a sum in a pension account at the beginning of the next scheme year;

“SCAVC” has the meaning given in regulation 17(1);

“the Scheme” has the meaning given in regulation 2;

“Scheme actuary” means the actuary appointed under regulation 100 (Scheme actuary);

“Scheme Advisory Board” means the board established under regulation 2 (Scheme Advisory Board) of the Governance Regulations;

“Scheme employer” means a body which is listed in Schedule 2 and has any employee who is eligible to be a member and includes an admission body;

“Scheme employer's consent” includes the consent of the appropriate administering authority in circumstances where the member's former employer is no longer a Scheme employer;

“Scheme employment” means an employment by virtue of which a person is entitled to be a member of the Scheme;

“Scheme pays election” means a member giving the administering authority notice of joint and several liability under section 237B of the Finance Act 2004 M26 in respect of the member's annual allowance charge;

“Scheme year” means a period of one year beginning with 1st April and ending with 31st March;

“shared parental leave” means leave as defined in regulation 3 of the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 M27 ;

“statutory pay” means any statutory sick, maternity, paternity, shared parental [F8 , parental bereavement] or adoption pay payable under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 M28 ;

“survivor member” means a person entitled to a survivor pension or a children's pension;

“survivor pension” means a pension payable under regulation 39, 40, 42, 43, 45 or 46;

“Tier 1 benefits” means the benefits a member is entitled to under regulation 34(4) (calculated in accordance with regulation 37);

“Tier 2 benefits” means the benefits a member is entitled to under regulation 34(5) (calculated in accordance with regulation 37);

“trade dispute” has the meaning given in section 218 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 M29 ;

“transfer value payment” means a payment made from the Scheme to another registered pension scheme or qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme, or a payment received by the Scheme from a registered pension scheme or from a European pensions institution;

“the Transitional Provisions and Savings Regulations 2014” means the Local Government Pension Scheme (Transitional Provisions and Savings) (Scotland) Regulations 2014 M30 ;

“the TUPE Regulations” means the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 M31 ; and

“UFPLS” means an uncrystallised funds pension lump sum as defined in paragraph 4A of schedule 29 of the Finance Act 2004, as inserted by paragraph 57 of schedule 1 of the Taxation of Pensions Act 2014 M32 .

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in sch. 1 omitted (6.4.2020) by virtue of The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/354), regs. 1, 41(6)(a)

F2 Words in sch. 1 inserted (6.4.2020) by The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/354), regs. 1, 41(6)(a)

F3 Words in sch. 1 substituted (with effect from 1.6.2018) by The Local Government Pension Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 (S.S.I. 2019/161), regs. 1(2), 2(26)(a)

F4 Words in sch. 1 inserted (with effect from 1.6.2018) by The Local Government Pension Scheme (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 (S.S.I. 2019/161), regs. 1(2), 2(26)(b)

F5 Words in sch. 1 inserted (1.10.2023) by The Local Government Pension Scheme (Remediable Service) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/240), regs. 1(2), 3(17)(a)

F6 Words in sch. 1 inserted (6.4.2020) by The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/354), regs. 1, 41(6)(b)

F7 Words in sch. 1 inserted (1.10.2023) by The Local Government Pension Scheme (Remediable Service) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/240), regs. 1(2), 3(17)(b)

F8 Words in sch. 1 inserted (6.4.2020) by The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (Consequential Amendments to Subordinate Legislation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/354), regs. 1, 41(6)(c)

Marginal Citations

M1 1996 c.18; section 73 was substituted by the Employment Relations Act 1999 (c.26); section 75B was inserted by the Employment Act 2002 (c.1).

M2 S.I. 2010/1055.

M3 2004 c.12; section 227 has been amended by the Finance Act 2009 (c.10) and the Finance Act 2011 (c.11).

M4 2008 c.30; section 3(7) was amended by the Pensions Act 2011 (c.19) section 6 and there have been further amendments which are not relevant to this instrument.

M5 S. I. 2010/772.

M6 2004 c.12; section 216 has been amended by the Finance Act 2005 (c.7), schedule 10, paragraphs 31 and 42, the Finance Act 2006 (c.25), schedule 23, paragraph 30, the Finance Act 2008 (c.9), schedule 29, paragraph 1(3) and (5), the Finance Act 2011 (c.11), schedule 16(1), paragraph 43 and schedule 16(2), paragraphs 73(2), (3)(a) and (b), the Taxation of Pensions Act 2014 (c.30), schedule 1(1), paragraph 16 and schedule 2(3), paragraph 21 and the Finance Act 2015 (c.11), schedule 4(1), paragraph 4(2) and (3).

M7 Issued by Cabinet Office in February 2017 with effect from 1st March 2017.

M8 1998 c.46.

M9 2004 c.35; section 293(8) was amended by S.I. 2007/3014.

M10 S.S.I. 2015/60.

M11 1971 c.56.

M12 1983 c.54; the definition of “competent authority” was inserted by S.I. 2007/3101.

M13 2004 c.12; section 237B was inserted by the Finance Act 2011.

M14 1995 c.26. The definition of “member” was amended by the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c.30), schedule 12(1), paragraph 61(2).

M15 1993 c.48; the definition of “occupational pension scheme was substituted by the Pensions Act 2004 and was amended by S.I. 2007/3014.

M16 1996 c.18; section 75A was inserted by the Employment Act 2002 (c.22), section 3 and was amended by the Work and Families Act 2006 and by the Children and Families Act 2014 (c.6), section 121(1).

M17 Section 71 was substituted by the Employment Relations Act 1999 (c.26) and amended by the Employment Act 2002 (c.22), section 17, the Work and Families Act 2006 (c.18), schedule 1, paragraph 31 and the Children and Families Act 2014 (c.6), section 118.

M18 S.I. 2002/2788.

M19 1999 c.30.

M20 1993 c.48; section 1 has amendments which are not relevant to this instrument.

M21 2004 c.12.

M22 2000 c.8; Part 4A was inserted by the Financial Services Act 2012.

M23 2006 c.46.

M24 1951 c.65.

M25 1996 c.14.

M26 2004 c.12; section 237B was inserted by the Finance Act 2011.

M27 S.I. 2014/3050.

M28 1992 c.4.

M29 1992 c.52.

M30 S.S.I. 2014/233.

M31 S.I. 2006/246.

M32 2014 c.30.