Copy of Consultation on Draft Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025

Overview

The Department of Justice is consulting on the Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025, to provide officers who were previously ineligible to apply for ill health retirement in the 2015 Police Pension Scheme (2015 Scheme), with the option to do so.  

Part 4 of the Police Pension Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015, sets out the rules governing eligibility for payment of ill health benefits and in particular excluded certain active members from ill health benefits, if they had a pre-existing condition which meant that the likely cost of providing that benefit would be disproportionately high. 

In 2023, the Department proposed to amend the then ill health eligibility rules in two stages (Prospective and Retrospective), the premise being that the Home Secretary had conceded (in a legal challenge "Ker v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire"), that the exclusion of officers from ill health benefits in the 2015 police pension scheme, contravened the non-discrimination rule in s.61 Equality Act 2010.  

The Prospective Stage was introduced by the Police  Pension (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2024 and resulted in the removal of ill health eligibility exclusions and concommitent reduced employee contribution rates from 1 April 2024.  From that date new joiners to the police service are no longer excluded from the 2015 scheme and previously ineligible members became eligible. The Prospective Stage came into operation from 1 April 2024 and permits all active members to access ill health retirement provisions (without the requirement to undertake a medical examination) but subject to the normal 2015 pension scheme rules. 

The Retrospective Stage – relates to police officers who joined the 2015 scheme (between the 1 April 2015 and the 31 March 2024 inclusive) who had previously been medically assessed as being ineligible for ill health retirement and who have paid a reduced pension contribution under Regulation 169.

These proposed regulations provide for an active or deferred member of the 2015 scheme, who satisfy the requirements of it, to elect for ill health retirement benefits  and establishes an option for ill health benefits under it and covers the provision of information about the benefits, the form and timing of an election, the calculation of the amount of employee contributions payable in respect of a successful application and the timing of their payment.

This consultation on the Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025 sets out :-

• the background to the Retrospective Stage and
• an explanation of legislative and policy changes required to implement it.

The attached consultation paper outlines the issues on which we are seeking views; you may find it helpful to read this, before submitting a response.

Why your views matter

The Department welcomes input from policing stakeholders and interested parties to ensure that the final regulations and policies are based on an understanding of how these amendments affect members of the police pension scheme constituted under the Police Pension Regulations (NI) 2015.