Meaning of “qualifying service”

5.  In regulation C3 (meaning of “qualifying service”)–

(a) in paragraph (1)(b) after “a personal pension scheme,” omit “,” and insert “or”, and after “buy-out policy” delete “or self employed pension arrangement”(1);

(b) after paragraph (1)(b) insert–

“(ba) in the case of a person who–

(i) has become a member on the transfer of his employment to a new employer as a result of a transfer of an undertaking to that employer, and

(ii) has rights under another occupational pension scheme to which he was eligible to belong in his former employment in respect of which no transfer payment has been accepted under regulations N1(4) or N4,

the period of employment that qualified the member for those rights;”; and

(c) after paragraph (4) insert–

“(4A) Where a member who is employed on a casual basis–

(a) ceases to pay contributions because of a break in his pensionable employment of a period not exceeding three months, and

(b) re-enters pensionable employment on the same basis after the break,

for the purposes of these Regulations he is treated as continuing to be in qualifying service (but not pensionable service) during the break, and as not being required to rejoin the scheme when he re-enters pensionable employment.”.

(1)

Section 96(2)(a)(iii) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 (c. 48) was amended by paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 2 to the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c. 30) extending the definition of personal pension scheme. References to “self employed pension arrangements” ceased to have effect from 25th April 2000.