The Retirement Benefits Schemes (Sharing of Pensions on Divorce or Annulment) Regulations 2000

Modifications of Schedule 10 as regards members of schemes who are moderate earners

5.—(1) In the circumstances prescribed by paragraph (2), Schedule 10 shall apply to a scheme as regards an employee within that paragraph with the modification prescribed by paragraph (3).

(2) The circumstances prescribed by this paragraph are circumstances where the employee—

(a) is a member of a scheme which is not a simplified defined contribution scheme;

(b) is an ex-spouse whose rights under the scheme have been debited as a consequence of a pension sharing order or provision; and

(c) is a moderate earner.

(3) The modification prescribed by this paragraph is that paragraph 18(5) of Schedule 10 shall be omitted.

(4) In this regulation, and in regulations 6 to 8, “moderate earner” means an employee—

(a) who is not a controlling director of a company which is his employer, and

(b) whose earnings at the date at which his marriage was dissolved or annulled were not more than 25 per cent. of the permitted maximum for the year of assessment in which the dissolution or annulment occurred.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4)(a), an employee is a controlling director of a company which is his employer if he is a director of the company to whom paragraph (b) of section 417(5)(b) of the Taxes Act 1988 applies either—

(a) at the date on which the marriage was dissolved or annulled, or

(b) at any time within the period of ten years before that date.

(6) For the purposes of paragraph (4)(b), an ex-spouse’s earnings shall be taken to be the total amounts of emoluments—

(a) which were paid to the ex-spouse in consequence of pensionable service to which the scheme relates during the year of assessment before the year of assessment in which the marriage was dissolved or annulled, and

(b) from which tax was deducted in accordance with the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations 1993(1).

(1)

S.I. 1993/744, amended by S.I. 1993/2276, 1994/775 and 1212, 1995/216, 447, 853, 1223 and 1284, 1996/804, 980, 1312, 2381, 2554 and 2631, 1997/214, 1998/2484, and 1999/70, 824 and 2155.