The Teachers’ Pensions Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2017

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make a number of amendments to the Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010 and the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014.

The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010 are amended to:

• change the period of a member’s pensionable earnings that is relevant for the purposes of an application for phased retirement benefits from 6 months to 12 months (regulations 3 and 4);

• provide that serious ill-health commutation of an ill-health pension takes effect from the date of the Secretary of State’s decision to grant it and a death grant (a separate pension benefit) is not paid in its place in the event that the applicant dies after the decision is made but before the first payment of the ill-health pension is due (regulations 5, 6 and 7);

• provide that an applicant for ill-health retirement benefits does not have to demonstrate permanent incapacity at the date of leaving employment but only at the time of the application, and illness or injury does not have to be the sole reason for leaving work; and it is clarified that the illness or injury which was the reason, or one of the reasons, for the member leaving work must be the same illness or injury or connected to or consequent upon the illness or injury relied upon in the application for ill-health benefits (regulation 7); and

• provide that an out of service early retirement application is voided if the member returns to eligible employment before the entitlement date specified in the member’s application (regulation 7).

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014 are amended to:

• clarify that where an actuarial adjustment is applied in the case of an active or deferred member who becomes a pensioner member of the scheme after reaching normal pension age, that adjustment is applied only to the accrued pension for the period prior to the active or deferred member becoming a pensioner member (regulation 9);

• change the period of a member’s pensionable earnings that is relevant for the purposes of a phased retirement application from 6 months to 12 months; the definition of “average annual rate” is amended accordingly (regulations 10 to 13);

• provide that an out of service early retirement application is voided if the member returns to eligible employment before the entitlement date specified in the member’s application (regulation 14);

• clarify that the illness or injury which is relied upon in an ill-health benefits application must be the same illness or injury or connected to or consequent upon the illness or injury which was the reason, or one of the reasons, for the member leaving service ; the amendment also makes clear that illness or injury does not have to be the sole reason for the member leaving service (regulation 15);

• provide that serious ill-health commutation of an ill-health pension takes effect from the date of the Secretary of State’s decision to grant it and death grant (a separate pension benefit) is not paid in its place in the event that the applicant dies after the decision is made but before the first payment of the ill-health pension is due (regulations 16 to 18); and

• correct a minor error by substituting a reference to “scheme manager” for “scheme employer” in paragraph 8 of Schedule 1(regulation 19).