Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1977

22 Other miscellaneous amendments

(1) Provision may be made by regulations as to the circumstances in which a person is to be treated as residing or not residing with another person for any of the purposes of the principal Act or any other Act relating to social security which was passed after that Act and before this Act (except the [1976 c. 71.] Supplementary Benefits Act 1976) and as to the circumstances in which persons are to be treated for any of those purposes as residing or not residing together ; and accordingly the words " " Residing with " ; " residing together " " in the first column of Schedule 20 to the principal Act and the words in the second column of that Schedule which relate to those words shall be omitted.

(2) In the following provisions of the principal Act, namely sections 24(2), 25(3), 26(3), 31, 36(2)(b) and 37(3)(b) (which refer to a woman who is cohabiting with a man as his wife) for the words " she is cohabiting with a man as his wife " there shall be substituted the words " she and a man to whom she is not married are living together as husband and wife ".

(3) At the beginning of paragraph (b) of section 43(2) and paragraph (b) of section 65(2) of the principal Act (which as amended by the [1975 c. 61.] Child Benefit Act 1975 require the contributions mentioned in those paragraphs to be over and above those required for the purposes of section 3(1)(b) of the latter Act) there shall be inserted the words " except in prescribed cases, ".

(4) In the following provisions of the principal Act, namely sections 67(2), 71(3)(b), 72(4)(a) and 73(3) (which refer to a woman who is cohabiting with a man not her husband) for the word " cohabiting " there shall be substituted the words " living as husband and wife " , and in the provisions of subsection (3) of section 71 of the principal Act which follow paragraph (b) of that subsection for the word " cohabiting" in both places there shall be substituted the words aforesaid.

(5) In section 93(1) of the principal Act (which specifies the questions to be determined by the Secretary of State) after paragraph (d) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(e) a question as to whether a person was, within the meaning of regulations, precluded from regular employment by responsibilities at home.

(6) Section 164 of the principal Act (which among other things relates to disclosure of information by the Inland Revenue in connection with the payment of benefit under that Act) shall have effect as if in subsection (1)—

(a) the reference to benefit under that Act included a reference to payments in pursuance of sections 2 and 5(1) of the [1973 c. 50.] Employment and Training Act 1973 which are analogous to the earnings-related supplement mentioned in section 14(7) of the principal Act; and

(b) the references to the Secretary of State included, in relation to such payments, references to the Manpower Services Commission, the Employment Service Agency and the Training Services Agency.

(7) In sections 35(7) and 45(1) of the Pensions Act (which relate to a person whose service in contracted-out employment ceases before he attains the relevant scheme's normal pension age), for the words " the scheme's normal pension age " there shall be substituted the words " pensionable age ".

(8) In section 40(3) of the Pensions Act, after the words " the rule has taken effect" there shall be inserted the words " except that the rule may also accord priority, on a winding up occurring after an earner has attained normal pension age, to liabilities of the scheme in respect of pensions and other benefits to which he will be entitled on ceasing to be in employment or to which the earner's widow or widower or any dependant of the earner's will be entitled on the earner's death. "

(9) If a certificate issued by the Secretary of State is in force stating that in his opinion the payment of a guaranteed minimum pension to which at any time a person is entitled or has accrued rights under an occupational pension scheme in consequence of an employment is secured by means of a policy of insurance which satisfies prescribed conditions or an annuity contract which satisfies prescribed conditions, then—

(a) for the scheme to be contracted-out in relation to the employment the Occupational Pensions Board need not be satisfied, in pursuance of section 41(1)(b) and (c) of the Pensions Act, that the resources of the scheme are sufficient for paying a state scheme premium relating to the pension and for meeting the liabilities accorded priority as mentioned in section 40(3) of that Act in respect of the premium ; and

(b) subject to the following subsection, if the scheme ceases to be contracted-out in relation to the employment no state scheme premium shall be payable in pursuance of section 44(2) of the Pensions Act by reference to the employment.

(10) If the Secretary of State considers that a certificate in force in pursuance of the preceding subsection in connection with an employment was issued in consequence of a mistake he may, in such manner as he thinks fit, cancel the certificate so far as it relates to the employment; and if he does so after the time when, but for paragraph (b) of the preceding subsection, any state scheme premium would have become payable by a person in pursuance of subsection (2) of section 44 of the Pensions Act by reference to the employment, the same state scheme premiums shall become payable by that person in pursuance of that section by reference to the employment as if the certificate had not been issued and shall be paid within the prescribed period to the Secretary of State.

(11) Section 52 of the Pensions Act and paragraphs 5 to 7 and 9 of Schedule 2 to that Act (which among other things provide for the modification of provisions of Part III of that Act in special cases) shall have effect as if any reference to that Part and to specified sections of that Part included a reference to subsections (9) and (10) of this section; and expressions used in either of those subsections and that Part have the same meanings in those subsections as in that Part.

(12) In sections 44(6) and 45(3) of the Pensions Act (which provide that the cost which an accrued rights premium or a pensioner's rights premium is to defray and the costs the difference between which a limited revaluation premium is to defray shall, unless the person liable for the premium elects otherwise, be calculated on the bases there mentioned) for the words from " unless " onwards there shall be substituted the words " be calculated on the basis that any relevant earnings factor has been increased by any order relating to it which has been made under section 21 of this Act including such an order made, whether before or after the scheme in question ceases to be contracted-out, in the tax year in which the scheme so ceases (hereafter in this subsection referred to as " the final year") except that, unless the person liable for the premium in question elects in the prescribed manner that the following provisions of this subsection shall not apply in relation to the premium, any relevant earnings factor derived from contributions in respect of a tax year earlier than the final year shall be treated—

(a) as having been increased by 12 per cent. for each of the five tax years ending with the final year, excluding any of those years in which an order under the said section 21 was made which did not relate to the factor and any of those years in which such an order was not made and would not have related to the factor if it had been made ; and

(b) as unaffected by such an order relating to the factor which was made in any of the said five years ".

(13) Regulations may provide that the said section 44(6) as amended by the preceding subsection shall have effect with prescribed modifications in relation to a scheme which has ceased to be contracted-out and, immediately before it so ceased, contained provisions authorised by section 35(7) of the Pensions Act (which, as amended by subsection (7) of this section, relates to a person whose service in a contracted-out employment ceases before he attains pensionable age).

(14) In section 47 of the Pensions Act, in subsections (1)(b) and (8)(b), for the words " state scheme premium " there shall be substituted the words " contributions equivalent premium ".

(15) In subsection (3) of section 7 of the [1971 c. 62.] Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971 (which specifies the tribunals mentioned in certain paragraphs of Schedule 1 to that Act of which the chairmen are to be selected from a panel of persons appointed by the Lord Chancellor but does not include among those paragraphs paragraph 30A(a) or (c) which relate to certain local and medical tribunals constituted in pursuance of the principal Act), after the word "28(a)" where it first occurs there shall be inserted the words " 30A(a) or (c) ".

(16) In section 8(2) of the [1970 c. 55.] Family Income Supplements Act 1970 for the words " Ministry of Social Security Act 1966 " there shall be substituted the words " Supplementary Benefits Act 1976 " and in section 11 of the said Act of 1970 (which provides for a fine not exceeding £100) for " £100 " there shall be substituted " £400 ".

(17) The [S.I. 1974 No. 2008.] Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) Regulations 1974 (which were made in exercise of powers which included the powers conferred by section 99(14) of the [1973 c. 38.] Social Security Act 1973) shall have effect as if made in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3(2) of the principal Act (which corresponds to the said section 99(14)).