Rules for Pre-existing Public Service Pension Scheme Members Regulations 2014

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 582/2014
• Year: 2014

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 26th December, 2014.

I, BRENDAN HOWLIN, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 2 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1976 , hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Rules for Pre-existing Public Service Pension Scheme Members Regulations 2014.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on 10th December 2014.

3. The Rules set out in the Schedule to these Regulations will apply to the employees of a relevant body if adopted as a Scheme, in a Statutory Instrument, in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions, including Ministerial approval requirements, which provide for the making of a Superannuation Scheme for that body.

4. ‘relevantbody’ means a body which comes within the definition of paragraphs (e), (h), (i) or (j) of the definition of ‘public service body’ in section 5 of the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 , and which makes a Scheme or amending Scheme adopting the Rules as set out herewith.

SCHEDULE

Rules for Pre-existing Public Service Pension Scheme Members 2014

Table of Contents

Part 1

Preliminary and General

1. Title

2. Purpose and Application

3. Definitions (Parts 1 and 2)

Part 2

Rules for Members’ Personal Pensions Provisions and Survivor’s Pension

4. Definitions (Part 2)

5. Membership

Rules for Members’ Personal Scheme Benefits

6. Minimum Pension Age and Preserved Pension Age

7. Contributions for Personal Scheme Benefits

8. Return of Contributions in certain cases

9. Retiring Salary, Pensionable Remuneration and Pensionable Allowances

10. Pensionable Service

11. Pension Calculation on Retirement

12. Lump Sum Calculation on Retirement

13. Balancing Gratuity on Death in Retirement

14. Preservation of Benefits

15. Preserved Pension Calculation

16. Preserved Lump Sum or Preserved Death Gratuity and Preserved Benefits payable on Medical Grounds

17. Cost Neutral Early Retirement

18. Retirement on Medical Grounds

19. Supplementary Pension

20. Treatment of Earlier Service in the Scheme

21. Split Pensions in the Scheme

22. Death Gratuity on Death-in-Service

23. Re-employment of a Pensioner who had retired on Medical Grounds

24. Re-employment of a Pensioner while in receipt of Early Retirement Pension

25. Re-employment of a Pensioner by the Relevant Body or Associated Body

26. Re-employment of a Pensioner by any Public Service Body

Current Rules for Survivor’s and Children’s Pensions

27. Application of the Provisions for Survivor’s and Children’s Benefits

28. Survivor’s Pension

29. Survivor’s Pension — Calculation

30. Survivor’s Supplementary Pension

31. Survivor’s Pension — Enhanced in the First Month

32. Survivor’s Pension — Grant and Payment

33. Children’s Pension — Grant

34. Children’s Pension — Calculation

35. Children’s Pension where no Survivor’s Pension in Payment

36. Children’s Pension — Beneficiaries

37. Children’s Pension — to whom paid

38. Periodic Contributions for Survivor’s Pension

39. Return of Periodic Contributions

40. Former members re-employed by the Relevant Body or by another public service body — Implications for Survivor’s entitlements

41. Non-Periodic Contributions

Obligations on the Relevant Body and Beneficiaries

42. Obligation to pay benefits

43. Assignment of Benefits

44. Abatement by Reference to other Benefits

45. Cesser or Reduction of Benefit

46. Duplication of benefit, including Survivor’s Pensions, not allowed

47. Adjustment to Pensions

48. Duty to give information

49. Duty to make Declarations

50. Repayment of Retirement Benefits etc., overpaid

51. Confirmation of certain Benefits paid or in payment

52. Appeals

Closed Scheme Rules for Survivor’s and Children’s Pensions

53. Survivor’s and Children’s Pensions — Closed Scheme Rules

Rules for Pre-existing Public Service Pension Scheme Members 2014

Part 1

Preliminary and General

1. Title

The title of this document is “Rules for Pre-existing Public Service Pension Scheme Members 2014”.

2. Purpose and Application

These rules will apply to the staff of a relevant body if adopted as a Scheme in a Statutory Instrument, in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions, including Ministerial approvals, which provide for the making of a Superannuation Scheme for that body.

3. Definitions (Parts 1 and 2)

“Minister” means the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform;

“Relevant Minister” means a Minister (other than the Minister) specified in the Act providing for the making of a superannuation scheme or arrangement for a relevant body, as having the function of approving such a scheme; where the Relevant Minister for a relevant body is the Minister, “with the approval of the Relevant Minister and the consent of the Minister” shall be read as “with the approval of the Minister”;

“relevant body” means a body which comes within the definition of paragraphs (e), (h), (i) or (j) of the definition of “public service body” in section 5 of the 2012 Act, and which makes a Scheme or amending Scheme adopting these rules;

“scheme” means a superannuation scheme referred to in Article 2 and which is a pre-existing public service pension scheme as defined in the 2012 Act;

“the 2012 Act” means the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 (No. 37 of 2012);

“the 2004 Act” means the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (No. 7 of 2004).

Part 2

Rules for Members’ Personal Pensions Provisions and Survivor’s Pension

4. Definitions (Part 2)

“active member” means a member who has not terminated his or her employment with the relevant body through resignation, retirement, dismissal or death;

“actual annual remuneration” means the annualised rate of remuneration payable to the member or former member on his or her the last day of paid service as a scheme member;

“actual pensionable service” means service as defined in Article 10 but excluding notional service as defined at Article 10(1)(f), (g), (h), (i) and (j);

“adoption order” means an order for the adoption of a child made before the establishment day for the Adoption Authority of Ireland, by An Bord Uchtála under the Adoption Acts 1952 to 1998, or on or after the establishment day for the Adoption Authority of Ireland, by that Authority under the Adoption Act 2010 ;

“allowances” means such allowances in the nature of pay, lawfully determined or lawfully approved by the relevant body, which are designated as pensionable by the relevant body with the approval of the Relevant Minister and the consent of the Minister, but excluding any sums paid in respect of overtime, commission, gratuity, special fees, travelling allowance, subsistence allowance and the like, the money equivalent of any emolument or benefit in kind (including motor car or other vehicle) or payment toward or in respect of such emoluments;

“child” (subject to Article 36) means a child or step-child or lawfully adopted child of a deceased member, where the child—

(a) has not attained the age of 16 years,

(b) has not attained the age of 22 years and is receiving full-time instruction at any university, college, school or other approved educational establishment;

(c) has not attained the age of 22 years and is undergoing full-time instruction or training by any person (in these rules referred to as “the employer”) for any vocation, profession or trade and the instruction or training is approved of by the relevant body for the purposes of this Paragraph, or

(d) is permanently incapacitated by reason of mental or physical infirmity from maintaining himself or herself and who, when his or her permanent incapacity first occurred, was a person to whom Paragraph (a), (b) or (c) related;

“children’s pension” has the meaning given to it in Articles 33 to 37;

“civil partner” means a civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 ;

“contributory State Pension” means the State Pension (Contributory) payable under the Social Welfare Acts;

“contributory survivor’s pension” means “the Widow’s, Widower’s or surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension” payable under the Social Welfare Acts;

“deceased member” has the meaning given in Article 28(1);

“death gratuity” has the meaning given in Article 22;

“former member” means a person who, having ceased to be an active member, is entitled to or is in receipt of retirement benefits under this Scheme or is entitled to claim at some future date retirement benefits under this Scheme;

“fully insured” means having employment in respect of which the person concerned is an employed contributor within the meaning of section 12 (1) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 —

(a) who is liable for an employment contribution payable at the rate specified in section 13(2) of that Act, not being a person to whom article 81, 82, 83, or 88 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) Regulations 1996 ( S.I. No. 312 of 1996 ) applies, or

(b) to whom article 87 of those Regulations applies;

“ill-health vesting period” means, in relation to retirement on medical grounds, the equivalent of 5 years’ whole-time actual pensionable service or, for any retirement that takes place on or after 1 August 2012, 5 years’ in pensionable service whether whole-time or part-time;

“lawfully adopted child” means a child adopted by a Scheme member or former Scheme member (whether alone or jointly with any other person), either in pursuance of an adoption order, or in accordance with the law of a country or territory other than the State and recognised by the law of the State as valid;

“Local Government Superannuation Code” means any scheme...