Credited periods for transferring members with mis-sold pension rights
126.—(1) Regulation 125(3) does not apply where –
(a)the transferring person is a person about whom information may be given under Article 164(1) of the Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (mis-sold personal pensions), as it has effect in the case of the Scheme (see regulation 111); and
(b)the transfer value satisfies the conditions specified in paragraph (2).
(2) Those conditions are –
(a)that it is paid by the trustees or managers of the personal pension scheme mentioned in Article 164(1)(a)(ii) of that Order;
(b)that it represents all the rights relating to the member in that scheme;
(c)that it is paid on an application made to the Committee before the expiry of the period of 12 months beginning with the date the transferring person becomes an active member (or such longer period as it may allow); and
(d)that in the opinion of the Committee it is not less than the restitution amount.
(3) Where paragraph (1) applies, the credited period is the period of membership the transferring person could have counted if he had been an active member throughout the personal pension period.
(4) The restitution amount is the aggregate –
(a)of the amount that would be necessary (as at the date on which the request for the calculation of the restitution amount is received by the Committee) to purchase a period of membership for these Regulations equal to the length of the personal pension period on the basis of a transfer from a scheme which is not a club scheme (including the value of rights under the Pensions (Increase) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971() and the Pensions (Increase) (Northern Ireland) Order 1974());
(b)of the transfer value paid out of the Scheme to the personal pension scheme; and
(c)of interest on any such transfer value at such rate as is approved for the time being by the Government Actuary, calculated over the period commencing with the date on which that transfer value was paid out of the Scheme and ending with the date as at which the transfer value is taken to be paid to the Scheme.
(5) The Committee must determine the amount mentioned in paragraph (4)(a) in such manner as is for the time being indicated in guidance issued by the Government Actuary.
(6) The personal pension period is the period for which the transferring person was eligible to be an active member but in respect of which he made contributions to the personal pension scheme instead.
(7) Where a transfer value has been accepted in relation to a woman to whom this regulation applies and in respect of whom a transfer value has been paid previously by the Committee to a personal pension scheme any part of which transfer value was attributable to membership before 5th April 1988, then the credited period shall be apportioned as membership before 6th April 1988 and as membership after 5th April 1988 in the same proportions as it would have been had the woman become or remained a member of the Scheme throughout the personal pension period.
(8) If in the opinion of the Committee the transfer value does not satisfy the conditions specified in paragraph (2) for the reason only that it is less than the restitution amount, the Committee may accept the transfer value on the basis that the credited period which the member may count is such proportion of the personal pension period as the Committee determines.