Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002

Obligatory contributions during absences

16.—(1) If a member –

(a)is away from his employment with permission (otherwise than because of illness or injury) for a continuous period of less than 31 days or away on jury service for any period; and

(b)is receiving reduced pay or no pay,

he must make contributions at the standard contribution rate on the pay he would have received during that period but for his absence.

(2) If a person who is a member or has applied to be a member goes on maternity leave, she must make contributions at the standard contribution rate, as respects any part of her period of maternity absence for which she is a member and entitled to receive pay (including any statutory maternity pay payable to her under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(1), on that pay.

(3) That pay includes any such statutory pay but not any amount by which her actual pay is reduced on account of her possible entitlement to such statutory pay.

(4) If a person who is a member or has applied to be a member –

(a)goes on ordinary maternity leave; and

(b)is not entitled to receive pay (including statutory maternity pay payable to her under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act (Northern Ireland) 1992) for all or any part of that period of leave,

for these Regulations she shall be treated as if she had paid contributions under paragraph (2) for the unpaid period of that ordinary maternity leave and on the pay that she would have received during that period but for her absence.

(5) If a person who is a member or has applied to be a member goes on reserve forces service leave, he must pay contributions under regulation 11 and any payments under Chapter III of Part III which he was paying immediately before his relevant reserve forces service began, if (and only if) during that service his reserve forces pay equals or exceeds the pay he would have received if he had continued to be employed in his former employment.

(6) Those contributions continue to be payable to the fund at the same rates on that pay.

(7) If he is not obliged to pay contributions under paragraph (5), for these Regulations he is treated as if he had paid them and also any payments under Chapter III of Part III which he would have been liable to pay if he had continued to be employed in his former employment.

(8) If a person who is a member or has applied to be a member goes on reserve forces service leave –

(a)he may continue to pay any contributions under Chapter IV of Part III (AVCs and SCAVCs) which he was paying immediately before his leave began;

(b)he may opt to discontinue payment under that Chapter; and

(c)unless he has opted, the Committee must continue throughout the period of his relevant reserve forces service leave to pay any such contributions which were to be used to provide benefits for him on his death.

(9) If a person who is a member or has applied to be a member goes on reserve forces service leave –

(a)his relevant reserve forces service counts as a period of membership in his former employment; and

(b)if during that service, he dies, attains his normal retirement age or becomes incapable for health reasons of working efficiently in local government employment, he shall be treated as if he were in that employment at that time.