The Occupational Pension Schemes (Schemes that were Contracted-out) (No.2) Regulations 2015

Revaluation after transfer from another scheme

30.—(1) The Contracting-out (Transfer and Transfer Payment) Regulations 1996 are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 1(2) (interpretation), insert in the appropriate place—

““Administration Act” means the Social Security Administration Act 1992;”.

(3) After regulation 13A (modification of section 12C of the 1993 Act), insert the following—

“Modification of section 16: revaluation after transfer from another scheme

13B.— (1) This regulation applies where the following conditions are satisfied—

(a) on or after 5th April 1983, a transfer of the earner’s accrued rights to guaranteed minimum pensions under a scheme (“scheme A”) was made (under or by virtue of section 20(1) of the 1993 Act) to another scheme (“scheme B”) that was at the time a contracted-out scheme;

(b) the earner commenced employment that was contracted-out by reference to scheme B;

(c) by virtue of section 14(1) of the 1993 Act, as modified by regulation 12(a), the calculation, under the provisions of scheme B, of the earner’s guaranteed minimum pension for the purposes of section 14(2) falls to include earnings factors arising out of contracted-out employment in any period of linked qualifying service that was contracted-out employment by reference to scheme A; and

(d) either—

(i) scheme B provides for the earnings factors to be increased at the rate by which they fell to be increased under the provisions of scheme A, or would have fallen to be increased under the provisions of that scheme relating to an earner whose pensionable service under the scheme terminated before the earner attained pensionable age;

(ii) if scheme A provided for those earning factors to be increased by reference to orders under section 148 of the Administration Act, scheme B provides for them to be increased in accordance with the provisions of section 16(2) and (3) of the 1993 Act;

(iii) if scheme A provided for those earnings factors to be increased in accordance with the provisions of section 16(2) and (3) of the 1993 Act, scheme B includes provision for them to be increased by reference to orders under section 148 of the Administration Act from the date of termination of the earner’s pensionable service under the scheme; or

(iv) if a transfer of the earner’s accrued rights to scheme B is not one to which paragraph (iii) applies and those rights were previously being increased at a rate calculated by reference to orders under section 148 of the Administration Act, scheme B includes provision for those earnings factors to be increased at a rate calculated otherwise than by reference to orders under that section.

(2) In paragraph (1), references to earnings factors include the weekly equivalent mentioned in section 14(2) of the 1993 Act.

(3) Where this regulation applies section 16(1) of the 1993 Act applies as if there were added at the end “or, in respect of the earner’s earnings factor (or the weekly equivalent mentioned in section 14(2)) for any relevant year in a period of linked qualifying service, shall be taken to be that factor (or weekly equivalent) as increased in accordance with the provisions of the scheme under regulations made under subsection (3)”.

(4) Where this regulation applies, the modifications of section 16(2) and (3) contained in paragraph (5) apply where earnings factors of an earner whose accrued rights to guaranteed minimum pensions, including such rights derived from linked qualifying service, have been transferred under or by virtue of section 20(1) of the 1993 Act to another scheme that was contracted-out.

(5) The modifications referred to in paragraph (4) are that section 16(2) and (3) of the 1993 Act applies as if it permitted that scheme to provide for those earnings factors to be determined for the purpose of section 14(2) of the 1993 Act without reference to any order coming into force under section 148 of the Administration Act—

(a) where such earnings factors had previously fallen to be determined by reference to orders under section 148 of the Administration Act, after the relevant year in which the earner’s pensionable service under the scheme, from which those rights were transferred, was terminated; or

(b) in any other case, in and after the relevant year in which that service was terminated,

and as if section 16(3) of the 1993 Act had effect accordingly, save, in a case to which paragraph (b) applies, for treating the reference to the amount of the increase in section 16(3) as a reference to the amount by which the earnings factors relevant to the weekly equivalent would be increased.”.