The Water Officers (Compensation) Regulations 1964

Retirement compensation payable to pensionable officer on his becoming incapacitated or reaching minimum pensionable age

18.—(1) Where a pensionable officer to whom this Part of these regulations applies, before attaining what would have been his normal retiring age—

(a) becomes incapacitated in circumstances in which if he had continued in the employment he has lost he would have become entitled to a pension under the pension scheme to which he was subject in that employment; or

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

he shall be entitled on the happening of either event to claim in lieu of any compensation to which he would otherwise be entitled under these regulations—

(i) in the case mentioned in head (a) of this paragraph, 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 head (b) of this paragraph, 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):

Provided that—

(i) if in calculating the amount of compensation payable to a person who has made such claim as aforesaid, the compensating authority, by virtue of regulation 23(2) of these regulations, have credited him with additional years of service or an additional period of contribution, no account shall be taken for the purpose of the foregoing provision of any additional years or period beyond the number of years which he could have served, had he not lost his employment, before the date on which the claim was received by the compensating authority; and

(ii) 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 claimant's actual service, no account shall be taken for the purpose of the foregoing provision of any such additional years or period except to the extent (if any) by which they exceed the number of years represented by the difference between the claimant's actual service and the period by reference to which the minimum benefit has been calculated; and

(iii) if the number of years by reference to which an accrued incapacity pension 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 shall, notwithstanding any minimum benefit prescribed by the pension scheme, not exceed such proportion of such minimum benefit as the number of years of pensionable service bears to the minimum number of years of qualifying service.

(2) On receipt of a claim under the last preceding paragraph, the compensating authority shall consider forthwith whether the claimant is a person to whom that paragraph applies, and within three months after the date of the receipt of the claim—

(a) if they are satisfied that he is not such a person, they shall notify him in writing accordingly; and

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

and any such notification shall, for the purposes of these regulations, be deemed to be a notification by the authority of a decision on a claim to compensation.

(3) If a claimant wishes to receive compensation under this regulation, he shall so inform the compensating authority in writing within one month from the receipt of a notification under the last preceding paragraph 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 compensating authority received the claim.

(4) A compensating authority may require any such person as is mentioned in head ( a) of paragraph (1) of this regulation, who makes a claim under that paragraph, to submit himself to a medical examination by a registered medical practitioner selected by that authority, and, if they do so, they 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 authority shall take that report into consideration, together with the report of the medical practitioner selected by them.