The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Levy) Regulations 1997

Modification of section 75 of the 1995 Act

11.  Section 75 of the 1995 Act (deficiencies in the assets) shall apply in the case of schemes which are money purchase schemes with the following modifications—

(a) for subsection (1) substitute—

“(1) If, in the case of a scheme which is a money purchase scheme, the value at the applicable time of the unallocated assets of the scheme is less than an amount payable by way of levy under section 175 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, then an amount equal to the difference shall be treated as a debt due from the employer to the trustees or managers of the scheme.”;

(b) omit subsection (2);

(c) for subsection (3) substitute—

“(3) In this section—

“applicable time", in relation to an amount payable by way of levy, means the time when the levy first becomes payable to the Secretary of State or, as the case may be, the Compensation Board or such later time as the trustees or managers may agree with the employer;

“employer" means—

(a) in relation to an occupational pension scheme in which there are members in pensionable service, the employer of persons in the description or category of employment to which the scheme relates; and

(b) in relation to an occupational pension scheme which is a frozen scheme, the person who was the employer of persons in the description or category of employment to which the scheme related immediately before the occurrence of the event after which the scheme became a frozen scheme;

“frozen scheme" means a registrable scheme under which benefits continue to be payable to existing members and to which—

(a) no new members may be admitted;

(b) no further contributions are payable by or in respect of existing members; and

(c) no further benefits accrue to existing members although benefits which have already accrued to them may be increased; and

“registrable scheme" means an occupational or a personal pension scheme—

(a) which—

(i) is established in the United Kingdom; or

(ii) has a place at which its management is conducted in the United Kingdom and has a representative appointed to carry out the functions of a trustee in the United Kingdom; and

(b) which—

(i) is a scheme in respect of which a person has applied for, or received, the approval of the Board of Inland Revenue for the purposes of section 590 or section 591 (other than subsection (2)(g)) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (conditions for approval of retirement benefit schemes and discretionary approval), or for the purposes of Chapter IV of Part XIV of that Act (personal pension schemes); or

(ii) is a scheme which is a public service pension scheme; and

(c) which—

(i) has more than one member; and

(ii) provides benefits which are not solely payable on the death of a member,

F1 ...

“unallocated assets", in the case of a money purchase scheme, means any assets of the scheme which have not been specifically allocated for the provision of benefits to or in respect of members (whether generally or individually).”;

(d) omit subsection (4);

(e) for subsection (5) substitute—

“(5) The value at the applicable time of the unallocated assets shall be taken to be the value as certified in a statement by the scheme auditor.”;

(f) omit subsections (6), (9) and (10).

Textual Amendments

F1 Words omitted from reg. 11 by reg. 2(8) of S.I. 1998/600 as from 1.4.98.