The Vehicle and Driving Licences (Compensation to Officers) Regulations 1977

Retirement compensation payable to pensionable officer on his becoming in-incapacited or reaching minimum pensionable age

19.—(1) Where a person to whom this Part of these regulations applies and who has suffered loss of employment before attaining what would have been his normal retiring age—

(a) becomes incapacitated in circumstances in which, if he had continued in the employment which he has lost, he would have become entitled to a pension under his last relevant pension scheme, or

(b) attains the age which, had he continued to serve in the employment which he has lost, would have been his minimum pensionable age,

he shall be entitled on the happening of either event to claim—

(i) in the case mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) above an annual sum equal to the amount of his accrued incapacity pension and a lump sum equal to the amount of his accrued incapacity retiring allowance (if any) and

(ii) in the case mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) above, an annual sum equal to the amount of his accrued pension and a lump sum equal to the amount of his accrued retiring allowance (if any),

subject however to the conditions specified in paragraph (5).

(2) On receipt of a claim under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall consider whether the claimant is a person to whom that paragraph applies, and

(a) if the Secretary of State is satisfied that he is not such a person, the claimant shall be notified in writing accordingly; or

(b) if the Secretary of State is satisfied that he is such a person, he shall assess the amount of compensation payable to the claimant and notify him in writing accordingly;

and notification in accordance with sub-paragraph (a) or (b) above shall, for the purpose of these regulations, be deemed to be a notification by the Secretary of State of a decision on a claim for compensation.

(3) The Secretary of State may require any person who makes a claim under paragraph (1)(a) to submit himself to a medical examination by a registered medical practitioner selected by the Secretary of State, and if he does so, he shall also offer the person an opportunity of submitting a report from his own medical adviser as a result of an examination by him, and the Secretary of State shall take that report into consideration together with the report of the medical practitioner selected by him.

(4) If a person wishes to receive compensation under this regulation, he shall so inform the Secretary of State in writing within one month from the receipt of the notification under paragraph (2) or, where the claim has been the subject of an appeal, from the decision of the tribunal thereon, and the compensation shall be payable as from the date on which the Secretary of State received the claim.

(5) The calculation of compensation under this regulation shall be subject to the following conditions—

(a) where the Secretary of State, by virtue of regulation 17, has credited the person with an additional period of service, no account shall be taken of any additional period beyond the period which he could have served, had he not lost his employment, before the date on which the claim was received by the Secretary of State; and

(b) if, by reason of any provision of the relevant pension scheme for a minimum benefit, the amount of any such pension or retiring allowance is in excess of that attributable to the person's actual service, no account shall be taken of any such additional period of service except to the extent (if any) by which it exceeds the number of years represented by the difference between his actual service and the period by reference to which the minimum benefit has been calculated; and

(c) if the number of years by reference to which an accrued incapacity pension or accrued incapacity retiring allowance is to be calculated is less than any minimum number of years of qualifying service prescribed by the relevant pension scheme, the amount of such pension or retiring allowance shall, notwithstanding any minimum benefit prescribed by the pension scheme, not exceed the proportion of the minimum benefit which the number of years of pensionable service bears to the minimum number of years of qualifying service.