Deferment etc. of benefits
E18.—(1) This regulation applies where a person is convicted of—
(a)an offence of treason,
(b)one offence or more under the Official Secrets Acts 1911 to 1989() for which he has been sentenced on the same occasion to a term of imprisonment of, or to two or more consecutive terms amounting in the aggregate to, at least 10 years, or
(c)an offence in connection with pensionable employment or excluded employment which is certified by the Secretary of State either to have been gravely injurious to the State or to be liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service,
and any benefit under regulations E1 to E17 becomes payable to him after the offence was committed.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of State may—
(a)defer or, as the case may be, suspend payment of the benefit for so long, or
(b)reduce its amount or rate by so much,
as he may determine,
(3) If—
(a)the person has a guaranteed minimum in relation to benefits under these Regulations, and
(b)the offence does not fall within paragraph (1)(a) or (b),
a determination under paragraph (2) may not deprive him of his guaranteed minimum pension after he attains state pensionable age.