Church of England Pensions Measure 2018

31 Liability of Church Commissioners

(1) The Church Commissioners are liable to meet—

(a) the cost of a pension arising from the retirement or death of a clerk, deaconess or licensed lay worker in so far as the pension is attributable to service before 1 January 1998,

(b) the cost of a lump sum payment arising from the retirement of a clerk, deaconess or licensed lay worker in so far as the payment is attributable to service before that date, and

(c) the cost of a lump sum payment arising from the death of a clerk, deaconess or licensed lay worker before that date.

(2) The amount of a pension or lump sum for the purposes of subsection (1) includes any increase in the rate or amount, any augmentation or any award of supplementary pension, whether made before or after 1 January 1998.

(3) The amounts required by the Board for payments under the past service scheme must, subject to subsection (4), be paid by the Church Commissioners out of their general fund.

(4) The Commissioners may, until 31 December 2025, apply capital funds for the purpose of meeting the cost of any pension or lump sum due to be paid under the past service scheme; and “capital funds” means funds held by the Commissioners the income of which forms part of their general fund.

(5) The Commissioners may make to the Board grants out of their general fund or loans for any purpose connected with—

(a) the payment of pensions to retired members of the past service scheme;

(b) the payment of pensions to surviving spouses and civil partners and to children and dependants of deceased members of the past service scheme.

(6) It is up to the Commissioners to decide the amount of a grant or loan under subsection (5) and the terms on which a loan is made under that subsection.

(7) The Commissioners may make payments to the Board out of their general fund to meet as much of the Board’s administrative expenses as appears to the Board to be proportionate to the work it undertakes in the administration of the past service scheme.