Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

599 Charge to tax: commutation of entire pension in special circumstances. U.K.

M1 (1) Where a scheme to which this section applies contains a rule allowing, in special circumstances, a payment in commutation of an employee’s entire pension, and any pension is commuted, whether wholly or not, under the rule, tax shall be charged on the amount by which the sum receivable exceeds—

(a) the largest sum which would have been receivable in commutation of any part of the pension if the scheme had secured that the aggregate value of the relevant benefits payable to an employee on or after retirement, excluding any pension which was not commutable, could not exceed three-eightieths of his final remuneration (disregarding any excess of that remuneration over the permitted maximum) for each year of service up to a maximum of 40; or

(b) the largest sum which would have been receivable in commutation of any part of the pension under any rule of the scheme authorising the commutation of part (but not the whole) of the pension, or which would have been so receivable but for those special circumstances;

whichever gives the lesser amount chargeable to tax.

(2) This section applies to—

(a) a scheme which is or has at any time been an approved scheme, or

(b) a [F1 relevant] statutory scheme established under a public general Act.

(3) Where any amount is chargeable to tax under this section the administrator of the scheme shall be charged to income tax under Case VI of Schedule D on that amount, and section 598(2), (3) and (4) shall apply as they apply to tax chargeable under that section.

(4) This section shall not apply where the employee’s employment was carried on outside the United Kingdom.

(5) In relation to a statutory scheme, “employee” in this section includes any officer.

(6) In applying paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) above—

(a) the same considerations shall be taken into account, including the provisions of any other relevant scheme, as would have been taken into account by the Board in applying section 590; and

(b) where the scheme has ceased to be an approved scheme, account shall only be taken of the rules in force when the scheme was last an approved scheme.

(7) Where the pension has been secured by means of an annuity contract with an insurance company and the sum receivable is payable under that contract by the insurance company, the references to the administrator of the scheme in subsection (3) above and in section 598(2) and (4) as applied by that subsection are to be read as references to the insurance company.

(8) In subsection (7) above “insurance company” means—

(a) a person authorised under section 3 or 4 of the M2 Insurance Companies Act 1982 to carry on long term business and acting through a branch or agency in the United Kingdom; or

(b) a society registered as a friendly society under the M3 Friendly Societies Act 1974 or the M4 Friendly Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1970.

(9) In relation to payments made under schemes approved or established before 17th March 1987 to employees who became members before that date, subsection (1)(a) above shall have effect with the omission of the words “(disregarding any excess of that remuneration over the permitted maximum)”.

[F2 (10) In subsection (1)(a) above “the permitted maximum” means, as regards a charge to tax arising under this section in a particular year of assessment, the figure found for that year by virtue of subsections (11) and (12) below.

(11) For the years 1988-89 and 1989-90 the figure is £60,000.

(12) For any subsequent year of assessment the figure is the figure found for that year, for the purposes of section 590C, by virtue of section 590C(4) and (5).]

Textual Amendments

F1 1989 s.75and Sch.6 paras.11(2)and 18(1)on and after 14March 1989.

F2 1989 s.75and Sch.6 paras.11(3)and 18(8)where the charge to tax under s.559arises on or after 14March 1989except where the scheme came into being before that date and the employee became a member before 1June 1989.

Marginal Citations

M1 Source-1970(F) Sch.5 Part II 2, 3; 1971 Sch.3 7; 197 (No.2) Sch.3 9

M2 1982 c. 50.

M3 1974 c. 46.

M4 1970 c. 30. (N.I.).