Judicial Pension Schemes

Thursday 8th March 2012 Written Statements

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Kenneth Clarke)]

At the spending review 2010 the Government announced increases to member contribution rates in public service pension schemes saving £2.8 billion a year by 2014-15, to be phased in from April 2012.

The Judicial Pensions (Contributions) Regulations 2012, laid today, will introduce from April new net personal contributions of 1.28% of salary for the members of the judicial pension schemes who have not accrued full pensions benefits. The regulations also set out when no contributions are due and ensure that the payment of personal judicial pensions contributions will have no impact on the maximum additional voluntary contributions that an individual may make.

The Government remain committed to securing in full the spending review savings in 2013-14 and 2014-15 from further increases to member contributions to public service pension schemes.

The associated Judicial Pensions (European Court of Human Rights) (Amendment) Order 2012, also laid today, will enable contributions towards the costs of providing personal benefits to be taken other than from salary, from the UK judge of the European Court of Human Rights if that judge continues to be a member of a judicial pensions scheme in line with the process already in place for collecting contributions towards dependants’ benefits.