The Judicial Pensions Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

• (1) If a member is convicted of a relevant offence, the Department of Justice may, in agreement with the Lord Chief Justice and to the extent that they both consider appropriate, withhold benefits payable under this scheme to or in respect of the member.

• (2) Paragraph (3) applies if benefits are to be withheld as a result of an offence falling within paragraph (b) of the definition of “relevant offence”.

• (3) The Department of Justice may only withhold that part of a person's pension that exceeds any guaranteed minimum to which the person is entitled under—

• (a) section 10 (earner's guaranteed minimum) of the 1993 Act; or

• (b) section 13 (minimum pension for widows and widowers ) of that Act.

• (4) In this regulation—

• “forfeiture certificate” means a certificate stating that the Department of Justice and the Lord Chief Justice issuing the certificate consider that the offence—has been gravely injurious to the administration of justice; oris liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the judiciary; and

• “relevant offence” means—one or more offences under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989 , or under section 18 of, or listed in section 33(3)(a) of, the National Security Act 2023, for which the member has been sentenced on the same occasion to—a term of imprisonment of at least 10 years; or2 or more consecutive terms of imprisonment which add up to at least 10 years;offences committed in connection with service in qualifying judicial office and in respect of which the Department of Justice and the Lord Chief Justice have issued a forfeiture certificate.

152

• (1) If the beneficiary of a deceased member of this scheme (D) is convicted of a relevant criminal offence, the Department of Justice may, in agreement with the Lord Chief Justice and to the extent that they both consider appropriate, withhold benefits payable to the beneficiary in respect of D.

• (2) The Department of Justice may, in agreement with the Lord Chief Justice and to the extent that they both consider it appropriate, withhold benefits, but may only withhold that part of a pension that exceeds any guaranteed minimum to which the beneficiary is entitled under section 13 (minimum pensions for widows and widowers) of the 1993 Act.

• (3) If the Department of Justice withholds all of the benefits payable to a beneficiary, Part 8 applies as if the beneficiary had died before D.

• (4) In this regulation, “relevant criminal offence” means—

• (a) the murder of D;

• (b) the manslaughter of D; or

• (c) any other offence of which the unlawful killing of D is an element.

153

• (1) If a member (P) owes a relevant monetary obligation or has caused a relevant monetary loss, the Department of Justice, subject to paragraph (2) may, in agreement with the Lord Chief Justice and to the extent that they both consider appropriate, withhold benefits payable to P under this scheme.

• (2) The Department of Justice may only withhold that part of P's pension that exceeds any guaranteed minimum to which P is entitled under section 10 of the 1993 Act.

• (3) The Department of Justice may not withhold more than the lesser of—

• (a) the amount of the relevant monetary obligation or relevant monetary loss; and

• (b) the value of P's entitlement to benefits.

• (4) The Department of Justice may only withhold benefits if—

• (a) there is no dispute as to the amount of the relevant monetary obligation or relevant monetary loss; or

• (b) the relevant monetary obligation or relevant monetary loss is enforceable as follows—

• (i) under an order of a competent court; or

• (ii) in consequence of an award of an arbitrator.

• (5) In this regulation—

• “relevant monetary obligation” means a monetary obligation which—was incurred to the Crown or P's employer (if different);was incurred after P became an active member of this scheme;arose out of P's criminal or fraudulent act or omission; andarose out of or was connected with service in a qualifying judicial office in respect of which P is a member of this scheme.

• “relevant monetary loss” means a monetary loss which—was caused to this scheme; andarose as a result of P's criminal or fraudulent act or omission.

154

• (1) The Department of Justice may, in agreement with the Lord Chief Justice, set off a relevant monetary obligation against a member's entitlement to benefits under this scheme.

• (2) In this regulation, a “relevant monetary obligation” is a monetary obligation owed by a member (P), which satisfies the conditions in paragraph (3), (4) or (5).

• (3) The conditions are that the monetary obligation—

• (a) was incurred to the Crown or P's employer (if different);

• (aa) arose out of P’s criminal or fraudulent act or omission;

• (b) was incurred after P became an active member of this scheme; and

• (c) arose out of or was connected with service in a qualifying judicial office in respect of which P is a member of this scheme.

• (4) The conditions are that the monetary obligation—

• (a) was incurred to this scheme; and

• (b) arose out of P's criminal or fraudulent act or omission.

• (5) The conditions are that the monetary obligation—

• (a) was incurred to this scheme; and

• (b) arose out of a payment made to P in error by the scheme manager.

• (6) Paragraph (7) applies if a set-off is to be applied as a result of P owing a relevant monetary obligation which satisfies the conditions in paragraph (3).

• (7) Where this paragraph applies, the Department of Justice may not apply a set-off against that part of P's entitlement to benefits that represents transfer credits within the meaning of Article 121(1) (interpretation of Part 2) of the 1995 Order (other than prescribed transfer credits for the purposes of Article 89(5)(d) (exceptions from the inalienability of occupational pensions) of that Order).

• (8) The Department of Justice may only apply a set-off against that part of a member's pension that exceeds any guaranteed minimum to which the member is entitled under section 10 of the 1993 Act.

• (9) The value of the set-off applied must not exceed the lesser of—

• (a) the amount of the relevant monetary obligation;

• (b) the value of P's entitlement to benefits.

• (10) The Department of Justice may only set off a relevant monetary obligation against P's entitlement to benefits if—

• (a) there is no dispute as to the amount of the relevant monetary obligation; or

• (b) the relevant monetary obligation is enforceable—

• (i) under an order of a competent court;

• (ii) in consequence of an award of an arbitrator.

155

The scheme manager is appointed to be responsible for all functions that are functions conferred or imposed on the scheme administrator under Part 4 (pension schemes etc.) of the 2004 Act.

156

• (1) A member of this scheme may request the scheme manager to pay on the member's behalf any amount that is payable by way of the lifetime allowance charge under section 214 (lifetime allowance charge) of the 2004 Act (“the amount”) if—

• (a) an event that is a benefit crystallisation event listed in the table in section 216(1) (benefit crystallisation events and amounts crystallised) of the 2004 Act (“the event”) occurs in relation to the member; and

• (b) the member and the scheme manager are jointly and severally liable in relation to the event.

• (2) A request may only be made by notice given to the scheme manager before the event occurs.

• (3) The scheme manager may only comply with a request if the member pays the amount to the scheme manager on or before the date on which the event occurs.

157

• (1) This regulation applies if—

• (a) an event that is a benefit crystallisation event (“the event”) listed in the table in section 216(1) of the 2004 Act (“the table”) occurs in relation to a member;

• (b) the member and the scheme manager are jointly and severally liable in relation to the event; and

• (c) no request has been duly made under regulation 156 in relation to the event or, if such a request has been made, the scheme manager is prevented from complying with it by paragraph (3) of that regulation.

• (2) If this regulation applies—

• (a) the scheme manager must pay the tax payable on the event;

• (b) if the event is benefit crystallisation event 8 in the table (transfer to qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme), the amount or value of the sums or assets transferred must be reduced; and

• (c) in the case of any other event in the table, the amount or value of the benefits payable to or in respect of the member must be reduced.

• (3) The amount or value of the reduction—

• (a) must fully reflect the amount of the tax so paid;

• (b) must be determined in accordance with guidance provided by the scheme manager; and

• (c) in the case of any reduction to pension benefits, must be consistent with normal actuarial practice.

158

• (1) If a member's pension scheme input amount for this scheme for a tax year exceeds the amount of the annual allowance for that tax year, paragraph (2) applies in respect of the member for that tax year.

• (2) The scheme manager must, no later than 31st July after the end of the tax year, provide the member with any information the scheme manager considers appropriate to assist the member to arrange payment of the annual allowance charge for that tax year.

• (3) In this regulation, “pension scheme input amount” has the same meaning as in section 237B(2) (liability of scheme administrator) of the 2004 Act .

159

• (1) This regulation applies where—

• (a) a member gives valid notice to the scheme manager of joint and several liability for an annual allowance charge under section 237B(3) (liability of scheme administrator) of the 2004 Act; and

• (b) the scheme manager satisfies the liability specified in the notice.

• (2) The amount or value of the benefits payable to or in respect of the member for the tax year to which the notice relates must be reduced by the scheme manager in accordance with paragraph (3).

• (3) Subject to paragraph (4), the reduction in the amount or value of benefits—

• (a) must fully reflect the amount paid by the scheme manager; and

• (b) must be consistent with normal actuarial practice.

• (4) Benefits may only be reduced under this regulation to the extent that the reduction would not result in the loss of any part of a guaranteed minimum pension to which a person is entitled under sections 10 (earner's guaranteed minimum) or 13 (minimum pension for widows and widowers ) of the 1993 Act.

160

Nothing in these Regulations requires or authorises the making of any payment, which, if made, would be an unauthorised payment for the purposes of Part 4 (pension schemes etc.) of the 2004 Act (see section 160(5) (payments by registered pension schemes) of that Act).

161

• (1) For the purposes of this scheme, periods of membership and service are to be expressed in the first instance in whole years, and days and fractions of a day, and the initial aggregation of periods that require to be aggregated is done in the first instance by reference to periods so expressed.

162

• (1) Except as otherwise provided by these Regulations, any question arising under this scheme is to be determined by the scheme manager, whose decision on it is final.

• (2) The scheme manager must, in consultation with the Judicial Pension Board, establish a procedure for the determination of disputes relating to members or other persons with an interest in the scheme.

• (3) A procedure established under paragraph (2) must meet the requirements of Article 50 (requirement for dispute resolution arrangements) of the 1995 Order .

163

• (1) The scheme manager may require any person who is receiving a pension under this scheme to provide evidence to establish—

• (a) the person's identity; and

• (b) the person's continuing entitlement to payment of any amount.

• (2) If the person does not provide the required evidence, the scheme manager may withhold the whole or any part of any benefits payable under this scheme in respect of the person.

164

• (1) The scheme manager must provide benefit information statements to each active member of this scheme in accordance with—

• (a) section 14 of the Act (information about benefits); and

• (b) directions given under that section (“Department of Finance and Personnel directions”).

• (2) The statement must contain the following information about the member's benefits as at the date of the statement—

• (a) the amount of each description of accrued pension specified in the active member's account as at that date;

• (b) the opening balance of each description of pension for that year and the index adjustment for that opening balance;

• (c) the amount of each description of pension for that year as at that date; and

• (d) any other information required by Department of Finance and Personnel directions.

165

• (1) An employer of a member of this scheme must, by such date as the scheme manager may specify, provide the scheme manager with such information as the scheme manager may request—

• (a) in connection with the scheme manager's or scheme administrator's functions in relation to this scheme; or

• (b) to enable the scheme manager or the Department of Justice to fulfil any obligations on the scheme manager or the Department of Justice set out in or under legislation.

166

Schedule 2 has effect.

167

Schedule 3 has effect.

Editorial notes