The Health and Social Care (Pension Scheme) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

Meaning of “pensionable earnings”

143.—(1) In the case of a principal medical practitioner or a principal dental practitioner who is not in receipt of any salary, wages, fees or any other regular payment in respect of his employment by virtue of the application of these Regulations to him as if he were such an officer under Part 2, pensionable earnings means—

(a)in the case of a principal medical practitioner, practitioner income less any sum on account of practice expenses (for these purposes, C3 contributions payable under regulation 164(5) or (6) are neither practitioner income nor practice expenses); and

(b)in the case of a principal dental practitioner, practitioner income (taking into account any relevant pensionable earnings ceiling).

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), for the purposes of this regulation, the practitioner income of a principal medical practitioner means—

(a)income that accrues to the principal medical practitioner which is derived from—

(i)a GMS contract;

(ii)an APMS contract;

(iii)payments from, or to, a practitioner who is a GMS practice or an APMS contractor in respect of the performance of certification services, commissioned services or collaborative services;

(iv)his engagement by a Health and Social Services Board to assist in the provision of primary medical services under Articles 57 and 57A of the 1972 Order;

(v)in the case of a principal medical practitioner, the provision of locum services;

(vi)payments made to a principal medical practitioner by an OOH provider in respect of the performance of primary medical services, commissioned services, collaborative services and certification services;

(vii)payments made to a principal medical practitioner by an employing authority in respect of primary dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services provided by the practitioner;

(viii)practice-based work carried out in educating or training, or organising the education or training of, GP Registrars or practitioners;

(b)any charges collected from patients in respect of the services mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) which the principal medical practitioner is authorised by or under any statutory provision to retain, other than charges authorised by regulations made under Article 98 of, and Schedule 15 to, the 1972 Order;

(c)any sums paid to the practitioner out of a fund determined by reference to the number of beds in a hospital; and

(d)in the case of a principal medical practitioner, allowances and any other sums (but excluding payments made to cover expenses) paid in respect of Board and advisory work.

(3) Subject to paragraphs (4), (6) and (8), for the purposes of this paragraph, the practitioner income of a principal dental practitioner means income that accrues to the practitioner which is derived from GDS arrangements.

(4) For each GDS arrangement from which practitioner income is derived, the maximum amount of practitioner income which may be derived from provision of that service in any financial year is, subject to paragraph (5), the value of that service in that financial year less the value of the following payments (if payable in that financial year by the Health and Social Services Board that is a party to the service)—

(a)monthly seniority payments;

(b)maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave or adoption leave payments;

(c)sickness leave payments;

(d)reimbursement of the salary of a vocational trainee;

(e)reimbursement of the national insurance contributions of a vocational trainee;

(f)reimbursement of non-domestic rates;

then multiplied by a percentage to be determined by the Department, which produces the amount referred to in this Part as the pensionable earnings ceiling.

(5) Income which accrues to a principal dental practitioner that is derived from the following payments under GDS arrangements is practitioner income for the purposes of this regulation (that is, it is pensionable earnings, notwithstanding that it is not included in the calculation of the pensionable earnings ceiling for a particular GDS service)—

(a)monthly seniority payments;

(b)maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave or adoption leave payments;

(c)sickness leave payments.

(6) The following payments under a GDS arrangement are not to be considered practitioner income for the purposes of this regulation—

(a)reimbursement of the salary of a vocational trainee;

(b)reimbursement of the national insurance contributions of a vocational trainee;

(c)reimbursement of non-domestic rates.

(7) For the avoidance of doubt, income which accrues to a principal dental practitioner while engaged as an assistant dental practitioner is practitioner income of that principal dental practitioner, but unaffected by any pensionable earnings ceiling.

(8) If a practitioner is in concurrent employment as an officer, or with a university, or as a civil servant, or in any other employment that the Department may in any particular case allow, practitioner income does not include any amounts for which the practitioner is required to account to the employer as a term or condition of that employment.

(9) In paragraph (2)(a), locum services shall have the meaning given by regulation 149(4).