Statutory Instruments
1998 No. 666

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ENGLAND AND WALES
The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 1998

Made
10th March 1998

Laid before Parliament
11th March 1998

Coming into force
1st April 1998

The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of his powers under sections 10(1) and (2) and 12(1) and (2) of, and Schedule 3 to, the Superannuation Act 1972(1) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consulting such representatives of persons likely to be affected by these Regulations as appear to him to be appropriate(2), and with the consent of the Treasury(3), hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 1st April 1998.

Amendment of the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995

2.  The National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995(4) shall be amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 12 below.

Amendment of regulation A2

3.  In regulation A2 (interpretation)—

(a)after the definition of “1977 Act” insert the following definition—

““1997 Act” means the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997(5)”;

(b)in the definition of “employing authority”—

(i)in sub-paragraph (d) delete “and” where it last appears;

(ii)in sub-paragraph (e) after “staff” delete “;” and insert “, and”;

(iii)after sub-paragraph (e) insert the following sub-paragraph—

“(f)a person who is providing piloted services;”;

(c)after the definition of “health service scheme” insert the following definition—

““medical list” means a list prepared in accordance with regulations made under section 29(2)(a) of the 1977 Act;”;

(d)after the definition of “mental health officer” insert the following definition—

““NHS employee” has the meaning given in section 2(3) of the 1997 Act;”;

(e)in sub-paragraph (a) of the definition of “occupational pension scheme” for “Chapter IV” substitute “Chapter I”;

(f)after the definition of “personal pension scheme” insert the following definitions—

““pilot scheme” has the meaning given in section 1(1) of the 1997 Act;

“pilot scheme employee” has the meaning given in section 2(3) of the 1997 Act;

“piloted services” has the meaning given in section 1(4) of the 1997 Act;”

Amendment of regulation E2

4.  In paragraph (10) of regulation E2 (early retirement pension (ill-health)) delete from “or” to “regulation E6)”.

Amendment of regulation E3

5.  After paragraph (3) of regulation E3 (early retirement pension (redundancy etc.)) insert the following paragraph—

“(4) This regulation shall not apply to a member who is providing piloted services under a pilot scheme.”.

Amendment of regulation E4

6.  After paragraph (3) of regulation E4 (early retirement pension (employer’s consent)) insert the following paragraph—

“(4) This regulation shall not apply to a member who is providing piloted services under a pilot scheme.”.

Amendment of regulation L4

7.  After paragraph (7) of regulation L4 (early leavers returning to pensionable employment) insert the following paragraph—

“(7A) Practice staff who were employed by a registered medical practitioner on both 31st August 1997 and 1st September 1997 and who—

(a)had previously been compulsorily transferred from employment with a body referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of the definition of “employing authority” in regulation A2, to employment with a registered medical practitioner referred to in paragraph (e) of that definition;

(b)were at the time of the transfer paying for additional benefits by regular additional contributions under regulation Q6; and

(c)rejoined the scheme with effect from 1st September 1997;

may resume payment of those additional contributions at such percentage rate, of current pensionable pay as applied prior to that transfer above, provided that payment of those contributions is resumed with effect from 1st September 1997.”.

Amendment of regulation Q1

8.—(1) In paragraph (6) of regulation Q1 (right to buy additional service) insert the words “or, in the case of a special class officer, age 55” after words “age 60” in each place where those words appear.

(2) After the table in paragraph (6) of regulation Q1 insert the following paragraphs—

“(6A) A member who

(i)joined the scheme on or after 17th March 1987;

(ii)has made an application prior to 1st September 1997 to buy additional service; and

(iii)does not commence making payments under regulation Q6 until on or after 1st September 1997,

may, until no later than 31st August 1998, elect that paragraph (6) shall cease to apply to him.

(6B) Paragraph (6) shall cease to apply to a member who

(i)joined the scheme on or after 17th March 1987;

(ii)makes an application on or after 1st September 1997 to buy additional service; and

(iii)commences payments under regulation Q6 on or after 1st September 1997.”.

Amendment of Part R

9.  In Part R (special provisions for certain members)—

(a)in regulation R4 (members doing more than one job)—

(i)for paragraph (1) substitute the following new paragraph:

“(1) This regulation applies to members in NHS employment—

(a)with more than one employing authority;

(b)who hold, under one employing authority, two or more separate employments; or

(c)to whom paragraph (10A) below applies.”;

(ii)in paragraph (10), delete the words “In calculating” and insert the words “Subject to paragraph (10A), in calculating”;

(iii)after paragraph (10), insert the following paragraphs:

“(10A) A member who becomes entitled to a pension under regulation E3, and has terminated concurrent employment as a practitioner not more than 12 months before the date on which he becomes entitled to that pension, shall not be entitled to receive a pension under regulation E3 in respect of any employment as a practitioner, but shall be entitled only to receive a pension under regulation E1 or E5, or a preserved pension under regulation L1, in respect of such employments.

(10B) Where paragraph (10A) applies, the member may, in respect of any service as an officer which has terminated and to which paragraph 9(1), (6) or (9) of Schedule 2 applies, elect for that paragraph not to apply and instead to receive a pension under regulation E3 in respect of that service.”;

(b)in paragraph (1)(b) of regulation R8 (former members of health service schemes) for “National Health Service (Isle of Man) Act 1984” substitute “Superannuation Act 1984”;

(c)after regulation R10 add the following regulation—

“Participators in pilot schemes

R11.  For the purposes of these Regulations for the duration of any pilot scheme—

(a)a registered medical practitioner—

(i)whose name appears on a medical list prior to the commencement of a pilot scheme, or who, prior to the commencement of the pilot scheme, was an assistant practitioner; and

(ii)who is involved in the operation of a pilot scheme whether as a person providing piloted services under a pilot scheme, or as a pilot scheme employee;

shall be treated as a practitioner employed by the relevant Health Authority;

(b)a registered medical practitioner whose name does not appear on a medical list prior to the commencement of a pilot scheme, other than an assistant practitioner, shall be treated

(i)as a practitioner employed by the relevant Health Authority if he provides piloted services under a pilot scheme; or

(ii)as an officer employed by the provider of the piloted services if he is a pilot scheme employee;

(c)a person who is providing piloted services shall be liable to pay contributions under regulation D2 in respect of a member who is employed by him as a pilot scheme employee,

(d)a member who, prior to the commencement of a pilot scheme—

(i)was employed as a NHS employee; or

(ii)was employed as a pilot scheme employee, and is not a registered medical practitioner;

and who, after the commencement of the pilot scheme, is providing piloted services under a pilot scheme, shall be treated as a whole-time officer employed by the relevant Health Authority;

(e)pilot scheme employees, who are employed otherwise than by a National Health Service trust which is providing piloted services, and to whom paragraph (a) or (b) (ii) does not apply, shall be treated for the purposes of these Regulations as if they were practice staff; and

(f)in this regulation—

(i)“assistant practitioner” has the meaning given in paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to these Regulations;

(ii)“relevant Health Authority” means the Health Authority which has made an agreement with a person for that person to provide piloted services in the Health Authority’s area.”.

Amendment of regulation S1

10.  In paragraph (5)(a) of regulation S1 (suspension of pension on return to NHS employment), for “National Health Service (Isle of Man) Act 1984” substitute “Superannuation Act 1984(6).”

Amendment of regulation S2

11.—(1) In paragraph (1) of regulation S2 (reduction of pension on return to NHS employment) for the word “This” substitute the words “Subject to paragraph (15), this”.

(2) After paragraph (14) of that regulation add the following paragraph—

“(15) This regulation shall not apply to practice staff in respect of whom a pension is payable under any of regulations E1 to E5 and L1 who were employed by a registered medical practitioner on both 31st August 1997 and 1st September 1997 and who—

(a)were ineligible to rejoin the scheme with effect from 1st September 1997; or

(b)made an election not to rejoin the scheme with effect from that date and who do not cancel that election.”.

Amendment of Schedule 2

12.—(1) In paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 (medical and dental practitioners—meaning of “pensionable earnings”) in sub-paragraph (1)(b) before the word “the” where that word first appears insert the words “in the case of a dental practitioner,”.

(2) In paragraph 6 of that Schedule (meaning of “pensionable earnings” in relation to other practitioners)—

(a)before the word “In” insert “—(1)”;

(b)after the word “overtime.” insert the following paragraph—

“(2) In the case of —

(a)a practitioner providing piloted services, “pensionable earnings” means all fees and other regular payments paid to the practitioner in respect of the provision of piloted services, but does not include bonuses or payments made to cover expenses or for overtime;

(b)a practitioner employed as a pilot scheme employee, “pensionable earnings” means all salary or wages paid to the practitioner in respect of employment as a practitioner, but does not include bonuses or payments made to cover expenses or for overtime.”.

(3) In paragraph 19 of that Schedule (members absent from work) after sub-paragraph (5) insert the following sub-paragraphs—

“(6) For the purposes of these Regulations for the duration of any pilot scheme—

(a)a member who is providing piloted services under a pilot scheme and who is absent from work by reason of illness or injury shall be treated as a practitioner whether or not his name is included on a medical list prior to the commencement of the pilot scheme; and

(b)a member who is a pilot scheme employee and who is absent from work by reason of illness or injury shall be treated as an officer whether or not his name is included on a medical list prior to the commencement of the pilot scheme.”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

Alan Milburn
Minister of State,
Department of Health
10th March 1998

We consent to the making of these Regulations

Jon Owen Jones
Graham Allen
Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury
10th March 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 (“the principal Regulations”) which provide for the superannuation of persons engaged in the National Health Service.
Regulation A2 is amended to incorporate further definitions (regulation 3).
Regulation E2(10) is amended in order to remove the overriding cap when a lump sum is paid when early retirement on grounds of terminal ill-health is taken, so that the lump sum is paid in addition to five times the pension (regulation 4).
Regulation 5 disapplies regulation E3 to all providers of piloted services.
Regulation 6 disapplies regulation E4 to all providers of piloted services.
Regulation L4 is amended to enable GP practice staff who were employed by a general practitioner on and before 1st September 1997 to have the option of countinuing their contracts to buy additional service, if they had such a contract before they were compulsorily transferred from NHS employment to employment in a GP practice (regulation 7).
Regulation Q1 is amended so that a member who makes an application prior to 1st September 1997 to buy additional service, but who commences payments on the contract on or after 1st September 1997, may up to and including 31st August 1998 elect that paragraph (6) shall cease to apply to him, and thereby increase the number of added years to be purchased (regulation (6A)). Paragraph (6) shall also cease to apply to a member who makes an application on or after 1st September 1997 to buy additional service and who commences payments on contracts to buy additional service on or after 1st September 1997 (regulation (6B)). In both cases the member must have joined the scheme on or after 17th March 1987 (regulation 8).
Regulation 9(a) inserts new paragraphs (1), (10A), and (10B) into Regulation R4.
New paragraph (1) provides that regulation R4 applies to members who, in addition to being employed by one or more employing authority, or holding two or more separate employments under one employing authority, may be in a single NHS employment at the time of redundancy, provided that they also held another concurrent NHS employment within the 12 months prior to the redundancy date.
Paragraph (10A) provides that a member who has been made redundant and whose last concurrent employment as a practitioner terminated within 12 months prior to the date of redundancy, shall only be entitled to a pension under either regulation E5 or a preserved pension under regulation L1 in respect of his practitioner employment.
Paragraph (10B) provides for an option which is available to a member in respect of officer service which has terminated and to which paragraph 9(1), (6) or (9) of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations applies.
Regulation R5(5)(a) is amended in order to clarify that in the case of commutation on ill-health retirement the payment of a lump sum of twice the pensionable pay in respect of a part-time member means twice the member’s actual pay and not the notional whole-time pay (regulation 9(b)).
A minor amendment is made to Regulation R8 to correct a reference to Isle of Man legislation (regulation 9(c)).
A new Regulation R11 is added to Part R in order to include providers and performers of piloted services under the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 in the scheme (regulation 9(d)).
New Regulation R11(a) provides that general practitioners who are on a health authority list prior to the commencement of the pilot scheme, and assistant practitioners, will continue to be treated as practitioners whether they are providing or performing piloted services.
General practitioners who are not on a health authority list prior to the commencement of the pilot scheme will be treated as practitioners if they are providing piloted services, and as officers if they are performing piloted services (new Regulation R11(b)).
All general practitioner providers will be treated as being employed by the relevant health authority for the purposes of the principal Regulations (new Regulation R11(a) and (b)).
The pilot scheme provider is responsible for paying employer contributions for doctors who are pilot scheme employees (new Regulation R11(c)).
A nurse, or any other NHS empolyee, or anyone who was previously a pilot scheme empolyee (other than a doctor), who is providing piloted services will be treated as a whole-time officer employed by the relevant health authority (new Regulation R11 (d)).
Members, other than practitioners, who are performing piloted services will be treated as practice staff for the purposes of the principal Regulations (new Regulation R11(e)).
A minor amendment is made to regulation S1 to correct a reference to Isle of Man legislation (regulation 10).
Regulation S2 is amended to add a new paragraph (15). This paragraph enables practice staff who are in receipt of an NHS pension and who cannot rejoin the scheme or choose to opt out of the scheme not to have their pension abated provided that they were employed by a general practitioner on and before 1 September 1997 (regulation 11).
Paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 is amended so that there will no longer be an adjustment to a general practitioner’s earnings when he employs an assistant practitioner (regulation 12(1)).
Paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 is amended in order to define pensionable earnings for practitioners who are providing or performing piloted services (regulation 12(2)).
Consequential amendments are made to paragraph 10(6) of Schedule 2 and a new sub-paragraph (7) is added to paragraph 10 to take account of the amendments to paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 (regulation 12(3)).
Paragraph 19 of Schedule 2 is amended in order to provide that a general practitioner provider of piloted services (whether or not his name appears on a health authority list prior to the commencement of the pilot scheme) will be treated as a practitioner if he is absent from work due to illness or injury. A general practitioner performer of piloted services (whether or not his name appears on a health authority list prior to the commencement of the pilot scheme) will be treated as an officer if he is absent from work due to illness or injury (regulation 12(4)).
These regulations do not impose any costs on business.


(1)
1972 c. 11. Section 10(1)(a) was amended by Schedule 5 to the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 (c. 32).

(2)
See section 10(4) of the Superannuation Act 1972.

(3)
See section 10(1) of the Superannuation Act 1972, and article 2 of the Transfer of Functions (Minister for Civil Service and Treasury) Order 1981 (S.I.1981/1670).

(4)
S.I. 1995/300; the relevant amending instrument is S.I.1997/1888.

(5)
1997 c. 46.

(6)
An Act of Tynwald.