The Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 (“the 1987 Regulations”) and the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 in consequence of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Section 11 of the Act provides for the law of England and Wales to apply to marriages of same sex couples as it applies to marriages of opposite sex couples. Schedule 3 includes “glossing” provisions which require references in legislation to marriage, married couples and people who are married to be read as including references to marriages of same sex couples, and there is similar provision in relation to people who are living together as a married couple.

In the case of legislation concerning survivor benefits in public service pension schemes where people in a marriage are treated differently to people in a civil partnership, the Government’s policy is to make contrary provision with the effect that survivors of marriages of same sex couples are treated in the same way as surviving civil partners, rather than survivors of marriages of opposite sex couples.

These Regulations implement this policy in the case of the 1987 Regulations and the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 by amending the relevant references to widowers and civil partners. The reference to a widower in regulation A12(2) of the 1987 Regulations is redundant and is omitted altogether.

Regulation 4 of these Regulations amends regulation G6 of the 1987 Regulations. Widowers’ benefits, along the same lines as those available to widows, were introduced into those Regulations with effect from 17th May 1990. Regulation G6 was added in 1994 in order to give female members the opportunity to make additional payments to secure that service between 6th April 1988 and 17th May 1990 counted in the calculation of these widowers’ benefits. On the introduction of civil partnerships in 2006, regulation G6 was amended so as to extend a further opportunity to make such payments to female members who had not previously elected to do so because they related only to benefits for widowers. Regulation 4 makes similar amendments to regulation G6 to reflect the introduction of marriages of same sex couples.

Regulation 5 amends regulation J1 (4B) of the 1987 Regulations. Paragraph (4B) entitles a surviving civil partner of a deceased police officer to a pension of one half of that police officer’s guaranteed minimum. Regulation 5 of these Regulations amends paragraph (4B) to put a surviving spouse of the same sex as the deceased police officer in the same position as a surviving civil partner of a deceased police officer.

Regulation 6 amends paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule C to the 1987 Regulations. Schedule C deals with widows’ awards, and paragraph 1 deals with the amount of a widow’s ordinary pension. Regulation 6 of these Regulations inserts wording which puts surviving spouses in the same position as widowers and surviving civil partners in relation to the calculation of pension benefits and different periods of pensionable service.

Regulation 7 amends Part III of Schedule C to the 1987 Regulations, which deals with widows’ accrued pensions. Regulation 7 inserts wording to put surviving spouses of the same sex as a deceased police officer in the same position as surviving spouses of a deceased opposite sex police officer in relation to accrued pension rights. Surviving spouses are put in the same position as surviving civil partners in relation to accrued pension rights. A surviving spouse is put in the same position as a man or a surviving civil partner of a woman in relation to the limit on the amount of flat rate award under Regulation E10 of the 1987 Regulations.

Regulation 8 amends Part IV of Schedule C to the 1987 Regulations, to put surviving spouses in the same position as surviving civil partners in relation to widows’ pensions in case of post-retirement marriage or civil partnership.

Regulation 9 amends Part V of Schedule C to the 1987 Regulations. In paragraph 1(a), surviving same sex spouses are put in the same position as widowers in relation to widows’ or widowers’ requisite benefit pensions. In paragraph 1(b), male surviving same sex spouses are put in the same position as surviving civil partners in relation to widowers’ requisite benefit pensions. In paragraph 1A, female surviving same sex spouses are put in the same position as female surviving civil partners in relation to widowers’ requisite benefit pensions.

These Regulations also amend regulations 7 and 13 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 to put surviving same sex spouses in the position of surviving opposite sex spouses, or surviving civil partners. Schedule 5 to the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 is amended in relation to an adult dependent relative’s special pension so that same sex spouses who were members of the pension scheme are in the same position as if they were opposite sex spouses or were in a civil partnership.