Parliamentary Pensions etc. Act 1984

13 Grants to persons ceasing to hold certain Ministerial and other offices

(1) Where a person who has not attained the age of 65 ceases at any time after the passing of this Act (" the material time ") to hold a relevant office, he shall be entitled to a payment under this section if—

(a) he has not been a Member of the House of Commons at any time during the period of two years ending at the material time ;

(b) he was throughout that period the holder of a relevant office (whether the same office or a succession of different offices); and

(c) he does not again become the holder of a relevant office within the period of three weeks beginning at the material time.

(2) The amount of the payment to which a person who has ceased to hold a relevant office is entitled under this section is the amount equal to one-quarter of the annual amount of the salary which was being paid to that person in respect of that office immediately before the material time.

(3) A payment under this section shall not be made until the end of the period mentioned in subsection (1)(c) above.

(4) No payment shall be made under this section where a person has ceased to hold a relevant office on his death.

(5) Where a person has at any time (whether before or after the passing of this Act) ceased to hold a relevant office but has again become the holder of such an office within the period of three weeks beginning at that time, then, on any subsequent occasion on which he ceases to hold a relevant office, the fact that he was not the holder of such an office for any part of that period of three weeks shall be disregarded for the purpose of—

(a) calculating the period of two years mentioned in sub section (1)(a) and (b) above ; and

(b) determining whether he was the holder of a relevant office throughout the period so mentioned.

(6) Where a person ceases on a dissolution of Parliament to hold the position of Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords or Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords, subsection (1)(c) above and, in the event of his ceasing to hold a relevant office on a subsequent occasion, subsection (5) above shall have effect in relation to his ceasing to hold that position on that dissolution as if for the words " three weeks " (wherever occuring) there were substituted the words " six weeks " .

(7) In this section " relevant office " means an office or position in respect of which a salary is payable under any provision of the [1975 c. 27.] Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 or the office of Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords or any office of Deputy Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords in respect of which a salary is payable out of money provided by Parliament; and in subsection (6) above " Leader of the Opposition " and " Chief Opposition Whip " have the same meaning as in that Act.