Social Security Act 1973

Section 52(9).

SCHEDULE 15 General provisions as to recognised pensionable employments and recognised schemes

Definition

1 In this Schedule, " the Board " means the Occupational Pensions Board.

Special provision affecting certain public service pension schemes

2 (1) In relation to employments of any class to which this paragraph applies, the Secretary of State may by regulations direct that elections with a view to the issue, variation, cancellation or surrender of recognition certificates shall be made and revoked by him instead of by the employer.

(2) Any such regulations may also make provision for other things which by or under Part II of this Act are required or authorised to be done by or to an employer to be done instead by or to the Secretary of State and for treating any employments of the class in question as employments under a single employer different from the employer in any other employment.

(3) Before making any regulations under this paragraph the Secretary of State shall consult with such bodies concerned with employments of the class in question as appear to him fairly to represent the interests of the employers and earners in those employments.

(4) Subject to sub-paragraphs (5) and (6) below, the employments in which an earner's service qualifies him for benefit under any of the following enactments shall constitute a class to which this paragraph applies—

• section 26 of the [1947 c. 41.] Fire Services Act 1947 ;

• the [1948 c. 24.] Police Pensions Act 1948 ; and

• sections 7 to 10 of the [1972 c. 11.] Superannuation Act 1972.

(5) Where service in any employment would qualify a person as aforesaid under any of the enactments specified in sub-paragraph (4) above but for rules having effect under section 2 of the [1948 c. 33.] Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1948 (which relates to persons transferring to or from certain employments), the employment shall be treated as falling within the class to which that enactment relates, and as not falling within any other class to which this paragraph applies.

(6) Where a local Act contains a provision for the payment of benefits in respect of service which, but for the provision, would qualify a person for such benefits under the enactments specified in sub-paragraph (4) above, that provision shall be deemed to be included among the enactments so specified.

Centralised schemes

3 Regulations may modify sections 52 to 62 of this Act in their application to employments in the case of which earners under different employers qualify, by virtue of their respective service in those employments, for the benefits of the same occupational pension scheme.

General regulations

4 In relation to employments which are or at any time have been recognised pensionable employments, and to the operation of schemes by reference to which such employments are or have been recognised, provision may be made by regulations—

(a) for treating an earner's employment, where it ends before a person succeeds to his employer's business, as having been employment under the employer's successor ;

(b) for disregarding changes in an earner's employment due to the death of an employer or other cause, or any cesser of recognised pensionable employment so due, or for treating employment under one employer as a variation of that under another and treating any recognition certificate issued to, or election made by, the former employer as issued to or made by the latter;

(c) for disregarding temporary interruptions in an earner's employment or recognised pensionable employment, and for treating the employment in either case as continuing during the interruption; and

(d) generally as to the circumstances in which an earner's employment is or is not to be treated as having begun, or as having come to an end ;

and references in this paragraph to an earner's employment beginning or ending shall include references to his employment becoming, or ceasing to be, recognised pensionable employment.

5 Regulations may enable the Board to determine, in prescribed circumstances, that an earner, or any group of earners falling within a particular category or description of recognised pensionable employments, has been in such employment from a date earlier than would otherwise be the case (not being, in the case of an earner within the scope of the determination, a date earlier than that on which his relevant employment began or a recognition certificate was issued in respect of it, whichever is the later).

6 Regulations may make provision for any incidental matters connected with the provisions of Part II of this Act in relation to any employment which is, has been, or may become recognised pensionable employment and in relation to the certification of such an employment under section 52 of this Act, or otherwise connected with the provisions of this Schedule; and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, regulations may relate—

(a) to the determination by the Board of any such questions as are referred to in section 52(7) of this Act,

(b) to the information which may in connection with any matters referred to in sections 51 to 62 or in this Schedule be required to be given by any person.

7 Without prejudice to paragraph 6 above, regulations may enable the Board to cancel or vary a recognition certificate where they have reason to suppose that any employment to which it relates ought not to be treated as recognised pensionable employment in accordance with the certificate and the employer does not show that it ought to be so treated.

8 Regulations may—

(a) regulate the manner in which employers are to make or revoke an election with a view to the issue, variation, cancellation or surrender of a recognition certificate, and require them to give notice for the purpose of informing earners and others of their intention to do so ;

(b) require employers of earners (whether or not for the time being in recognised pensionable employment) to notify earners and others, in the prescribed manner, of the manner in which the minimum benefits of any occupational pension scheme fall to be calculated under the scheme and any regulations applicable thereto ;

(c) empower the Board to defer the issue or variation of a recognition certificate so as to enable the relevant election to be further considered in the fight of any representation made by persons to whom notice of the election is required by regulations to be given, or by organisations representing any such persons ;

(d) contain provisions relating to employments which have ceased to be (as well as to those which are) recognised pensionable employments in relation to any person.

Adjustment of computation

9 Regulations may, in relation to any method adopted in an occupational pension scheme for making ascertainable its minimum benefits, provide for adjusting figures so as to avoid fractional amounts and otherwise to facilitate computation.

Modification of recognition provisions in certain cases

10 (1) Regulations may modify the provisions of sections 52 to 57 of this Act in their application to cases in which a person is employed at the same time in two or more employments (whether or not under the same employer), being employments of which at least one, but not both or all, is recognised pensionable employment, with a view to enabling the employments to be treated either separately or together for the purposes of Part II of this Act.

(2) Regulations may modify the provisions of sections 53 to 58 of this Act in their application to cases in which—

(a) any description of benefit under a scheme is subject to a limit (however imposed) operating so as to prevent service beyond a particular length from qualifying for further benefits ;

(b) earners qualify for the benefits of a scheme by reference not only to service in recognised pensionable employment but also to service in the same or another employment (whether or not recognised pensionable employment) before the scheme was recognised in relation to them or their employment;

and regulations under this paragraph may include provision for securing that, in such cases, an earner's employment does not cease to be recognised pensionable employment only because his service for the time being does not qualify him for minimum benefits.

Scheme rules not to be altered without Board's consent

11 (1) Where in respect of any employment a recognition certificate has been issued, no alteration of the rules of the relevant recognised scheme shall be made so as to affect any of the matters dealt with in sections 51 to 62 of this Act without the Board's consent; and any such alteration made without that consent shall be void:

Provided that a consent given by the Board for the purpose of this paragraph shall, if and to the extent that the Board so direct, operate so as to validate with retrospective effect any operation of the rules which would otherwise be void under this paragraph.

(2) This paragraph shall continue in force in relation to a scheme after it has ceased to be recognised so long as any person qualifies (immediately or prospectively) for any of the minimum benefits of the scheme within the meaning of section 62 of this Act.

Introductory and transitional provisions

12 Regulations may (without prejudice to any power exercisable by virtue of section 100(1) of this Act) make such provision as the Secretary of State thinks expedient for facilitating the bringing into force of so much of Part II of this Act as relates to recognised pensionable employment, including—

(a) provisions for effecting orderly transition between Part III of the former principal Act and Part II of this Act, and other transitional provisions ; and

(b) provisions enabling the Board to issue recognition certificates on the basis of such undertakings and information as may be prescribed by the regulations.