Consultation on member contributions 2020 onwards
Rural imapact assessment member contributions- The Northern Ireland Judicial Pension Scheme (NIJPS) was established by the Department of Justice (DoJ) on 1 April 2015 under the Judicial Pensions Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 (the 2015 Regulations). Like other pension schemes which were set up as a result of public sector pension reform, it is a career-average revalued earnings scheme open to specified members of the devolved judiciary (that is, judicial office-holders in Northern Ireland who are not listed in paragraph 11 of Schedule 2 to the Northern Ireland Act 1998).
- There is a requirement on DoJ under section 22(2)(a) of the Public Service Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 (the 2014 Act) to consult with the persons (or representatives of the persons) who appear likely to be affected by any proposed amendments to the 2015 Regulations. DoJ is therefore seeking your views on proposed changes to member contributions that are provided for by the 2015 Regulations. It should be noted that these proposals mirror the approach proposed by the Ministry of Justice in relation to its 2015 Judicial Pension Scheme, upon which the NIJPS is based.
- In summary, it is proposed that:
- Existing member contribution rates in the NIJPS for the financial year 2020-21 and for each following year are maintained, until alternative provision is made;
- The earning thresholds under £150,001 per annum of the member contribution rate structure for the NIJPS are uprated in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on and from 1st April 2020; and
- Earning thresholds are uprated each year with the increase in the CPI in the 12 months to the previous September, rounded up to the nearest pound. If the CPI rate is negative, or amounts to zero, the earning thresholds will remain unchanged.
Consultation opened on 02 December 2019. Closing date 08 January 2020.