ANNEXN.I.The Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) 2007

PART AN.I.GENERAL PROVISIONS AND RETIREMENT

InterpretationN.I.

1.—(1) Part I of Schedule 1 contains a glossary of expressions; in this Scheme any expression for which there is an entry in the first column of that Schedule has the meaning given against it in the second column or is to be construed in accordance with directions given against it in that column.

(2) Part II of Schedule 1 has effect for construing references in this Scheme to certain expressions related to the National Insurance and Social Security Acts and Orders.

Exclusive application to regular firefightersN.I.

2.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) to (5), this Scheme applies in relation to regular firefighters and their spouses or civil partners and dependants to the exclusion of pension provision under any enactment other than Article 10 of the Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 and the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993(1).

(2) In paragraph (1) “pension provision” means any provision for the payment of a pension, allowance or gratuity, on cessation of employment or on death, in respect of employment as a regular firefighter.

(3) A person who is not a member of the fire and rescue service but whose employment is, under article 3 or 4, treated for the purposes of this Scheme as employment as a regular firefighter is not a regular firefighter for the purposes of this article.

(4) Nothing in this article prevents provision being made by this Scheme in respect of pension credit members.

(5) This Scheme ceases to apply in relation to—

(a)a person who takes up employment with the Board on or after 6th April 2006, subject to paragraph (6);

(b)a person who, having made an election under article 59(1) not to pay pension contributions, cancels that election on or after 6th April 2006, subject to paragraph (7); and

(c)the spouse, civil partner, eligible child or other dependant of such a person,

on the day on which a scheme, other than the Compensation Scheme, is brought into operation under paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006(2).

(6) Paragraph (5) shall not apply to a person who, immediately before taking up employment with the Board—

(a)was employed by an English, Scottish or Welsh fire and rescue authority as a regular firefighter;

(b)had been continuously employed by that authority since 5th April 2006 or earlier;

(c)had not made an election not to pay pension contributions or, if such an election had been made, had cancelled the election not to pay contributions before 6th April 2006; and

(d)had not elected to join any other pension scheme maintained by that authority which would require a contribution of less than 11 per cent of his pensionable pay.

(7) In the situation described in paragraph 2(5)(b), if—

(a)a person has accrued pension rights prior to the making of an election not to pay pension contributions; and

(b)such person’s pension contributions have not been refunded,

this Scheme shall continue to apply solely in respect of those accrued pension rights.

Application to temporary employment connected with fire and rescue servicesN.I.

3.—(1) This article applies in the case of a person who has ceased to perform duties as a regular firefighter and has entered relevant employment.

(2) For the purposes of this article relevant employment is temporary employment, on duties connected with the provision of fire and rescue services—

(a)as an instructor at the central training institution or any training centre maintained by the Secretary of State; or

(b)as an inspector appointed under Article 50 of the Fire Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 or Article 55 of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 or under section 24 of the Fire Services Act 1947(3) or section 28 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004; or

(c)in pursuance of arrangements made by the Secretary of State in connection with the training in firefighting of members of the armed forces of the Crown; or

(d)in pursuance of arrangements made by the Secretary of State in connection with the training and organisation of firefighting forces in any country or territory outside the United Kingdom.

(3) Where this article applies the person’s relevant employment shall be treated for the purposes of this Scheme as employment as a member of the fire and rescue service and this Scheme applies in relation to the relevant employment as if—

(a)he were, and his duties were duties as, a regular firefighter;

(b)his pay and rank were the same as they would have been had he not ceased to perform duties as a regular firefighter;

(c)any reference to the fire and rescue service were a reference to the relevant employment;

(d)articles 10, 11 and 90 were omitted; and

(e)any reference to the Board were a reference to the Secretary of State.

Application to permanent employment as instructorN.I.

4.—(1) This article applies in the case of a person who has ceased to perform duties as a regular firefighter and has entered relevant employment.

(2) For the purposes of this article relevant employment is permanent employment, on duties connected with the provision of fire services, as an instructor at the central training institution or any training centre maintained by the Secretary of State.

(3) Where this article applies the person’s relevant employment shall be treated for the purposes of this Scheme as employment as a member of the fire and rescue service and this Scheme applies in relation to the relevant employment as if—

(a)he were, and his duties were duties as, a regular firefighter;

(b)any reference to the fire and rescue service were a reference to the relevant employment;

(c)any reference to the Board were a reference to the Secretary of State; and

(d)articles 10, 11 and 90 were omitted.

Reckoning of service for purposes of awardsN.I.

5.—(1) For the purpose of calculating an award payable to or in respect of a member of the fire and rescue service by reference to any period in years (including a period of pensionable or other service) the period shall be reckoned as (A + (B/365)) years; where A is the number of completed years in the period, and B is the number of completed days in any remaining part of a year; and accordingly a part of a year which includes 29th February in a leap year and comprises 365 days, shall be treated as a whole year.

(2) Where, for the purpose of calculating an award payable to or in respect of a regular firefighter—

(a)it is necessary to determine his pensionable service reckonable by reason of service or employment before or after a particular date (“the material date”); and

(b)by virtue of the receipt by the Board of a transfer value, he is entitled to reckon a period of pensionable service (“the credited period”) by reason of service or employment for a period (“the previous employment period”) which includes that date,

the credited period counts as pensionable service reckonable by reason of service or employment before and after the material date in the same proportion as that between the parts of the previous employment period falling before and after the material date.

(3) In the case of a person who ceased to serve as a member of the fire brigade before 1st May 1975, Part III of Schedule 9 has effect and this article does not apply.

(4) Subject to article 24 and Part IV of Schedule 2, any period of service as a part-time member of the fire brigade shall be treated as service as a whole-time member of the fire brigade when calculating a person’s pensionable service.

Aggregate pension contributions for purposes of awardsN.I.

6.—(1) A regular firefighter’s aggregate pension contributions comprise—

(a)all payments made by him to the Board that fall within paragraph (2);

(b)all payments made by him in accordance with article 46(4);

(c)all contributions made by him in accordance with an election under article 58 (optional pension contributions during maternity and adoption leave),

(d)all payments made by him in accordance with an election under article 62 (election to purchase increased benefits); and

(e)if paragraph (3) applies, the amount of the notional award described in paragraph (4).

(2) The payments falling within this paragraph are payments under this Scheme or a previous Scheme that relate to a period of service which the regular firefighter is, or was immediately before electing under article 59 not to pay pension contributions, entitled to reckon as pensionable service and have not been refunded to him, including payments made—

(a)by way of rateable deductions from pay;

(b)by way of such additional and further payments as were mentioned in Articles 51 to 53 of the 1973 Scheme; or

(c)in accordance with such an undertaking as is mentioned in Part I of Schedule 6.

(3) This paragraph applies where the regular firefighter is, or was immediately before electing under article 59 not to pay pension contributions, entitled to reckon pensionable service by reason of a period of service or employment otherwise than as a regular firefighter (“the previous employment period”).

(4) The notional award mentioned in paragraph (1)(e) is the award by way of return of contributions or analogous payment that would have been made to him if, at the end of the previous employment period, he had voluntarily retired in circumstances entitling him to such an award under the applicable superannuation arrangements.

DisablementN.I.

7.—(1) References in this Scheme to a person’s being permanently disabled are references to his being disabled at the time when the question arises for decision and to his disablement being at that time likely to be permanent.

(2) In determining whether a disablement is permanent, the Board shall have regard to whether the disablement will continue until the person’s normal retirement age.

(3) Disablement means incapacity, occasioned by infirmity of mind or body, for the performance of duty, except that in relation to a child it means incapacity, so occasioned, to earn a living.

(4) Where a person has retired before becoming disabled and the date on which he becomes disabled cannot be ascertained, it shall be taken to be the date on which the claim that he is disabled is first made known to the Board.

Relevant service in the armed forcesN.I.

8.  References in this Scheme to relevant service in the armed forces are references to—

(a)service specified in Schedule 1 to the Reserve and Auxiliary Forces (Protection of Civil Interests) Act 1951(4) (“the 1951 Act”), other than service specified in paragraph 5(b) of that Schedule;

(b)part-time service under the National Service Act 1948(5), otherwise than pursuant to a training notice under that Act; and

(c)service for the purposes of training only performed by a person mentioned in paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the 1951 Act for a period shorter than 7 days.

Normal pension ageN.I.

9.  The normal pension age of employees of the Board appointed on terms under which they are or may be required to engage in fire-fighting is 55.

Compulsory retirement on grounds of efficiencyN.I.

10.  A regular firefighter who—

(a)has attained the age of 50; and

(b)has, or but for an election under article 59 or a failure to make election under article 46(3) or 58 would have, completed 25 years’ pensionable service,

may be required by the Board to retire on the grounds that his retention in the fire and rescue service would not be in the general interests of its efficiency.

Compulsory retirement on grounds of disablementN.I.

11.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a regular firefighter may be required by the Board to retire on the date on which the Board determines that he ought to retire on the ground that he is permanently disabled.

(2) A retirement under this article is void if, on an appeal against the medical opinion on which the Board acted in determining that he ought to retire, the independent medical referee appointed under Schedule 8 decides that the appellant is not permanently disabled.

Effective date of retirementN.I.

12.  For the purposes of this Scheme a member of the fire and rescue service shall be taken to retire immediately after his last day of service.