SCHEDULE 11 Pensions
The powers of protection
6
(1)
The Secretary of State may by order make provision for the purpose of protecting the interests of protected persons in respect of their pension rights.
(2)
Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (1) above, an order under that sub-paragraph may make provision for the purpose of securing—
(a)
that the relevant pension rights of protected persons are no less favourable as a result of—
(i)
any amendment of an occupational pension scheme,
(ii)
any transfer of pension rights F1(whether made between occupational pension schemes or sections of an occupational pension scheme or otherwise), or
(iii)
any winding up of an occupational pension scheme, in whole or in part,
than they would have been apart from the amendment, transfer or winding up, as the case may be;
(b)
that a person who is a protected person by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph 5 above is not prevented, otherwise than by reason of either of the following events, that is to say—
(i)
the continuity of his period of employment is broken, or
(ii)
he voluntarily withdraws from an occupational pension scheme,
from participating in some occupational pension scheme and acquiring pension rights under that scheme which are no less favourable than those which would have been provided under his former scheme in accordance with the rules of that scheme as in force immediately before the coming into force of the order; or
(c)
that the employer of a person falling within paragraph (b) above is required to provide an occupational pension scheme in which the person may participate and to which pension rights of his, and assets and liabilities relating to, or representative of, those pension rights, may be transferred;
and in paragraph (b) above “former scheme”, in relation to a protected person, means the existing scheme mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be, of paragraph 5 above.
(3)
For the purposes of this paragraph, the “relevant pension rights" of a protected person are so much of his pension rights as consist of or otherwise represent—
(a)
in the case of a person who is a protected person by virtue of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph 5 above, any pension rights which, immediately before the passing of this Act, he had under the existing scheme mentioned in the paragraph in question;
(b)
in the case of a person who is a protected person by virtue of paragraph 5(a) or (b) above, any pension rights which he acquires, or has acquired, by virtue of his participation in an occupational pension scheme during the protected period in his case; and
(c)
in the case of a person who is a protected person by virtue of paragraph (d) of paragraph 5 above, any pension rights which he acquires, or has acquired, after the passing of this Act and in consequence of the death of the other person mentioned in the said paragraph (d) (“the deceased"), being—
(i)
pension rights under the existing scheme mentioned in that paragraph, so far as referable to pension rights which the deceased had under that scheme before the passing of this Act;
(ii)
pension rights under any occupational pension scheme, so far as referable to pension rights which, before the passing of this Act, the deceased had under the existing scheme mentioned in the said paragraph (d) and which have been transferred from that existing scheme, whether directly or indirectly; or
(iii)
pension rights under any occupational pension scheme, so far as referable to the participation of the deceased in that or any other occupational pension scheme during the protected period.
(4)
For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3) above, “the protected period” means—
(a)
in the case of a person who is a protected person by virtue of paragraph (a) of paragraph 5 above, the period beginning with the passing of this Act and ending with whichever of the following events first occurs, that is to say—
(i)
the continuity of the person’s period of employment is broken; or
(ii)
he voluntarily withdraws from an occupational pension scheme;
(b)
in the case of a person who is a protected person by virtue of paragraph (b) of paragraph 5 above, a period beginning at such time as may be prescribed and ending with whichever of the following events first occurs, that is to say—
(i)
the continuity of the person’s period of employment is broken; or
(ii)
he voluntarily withdraws from an occupational pension scheme; and
(c)
in the case of a person who is a protected person by virtue of paragraph (d) of paragraph 5 above, the period (if any) which is the protected period in the case of the other person mentioned in the said paragraph (d).
(5)
In determining a person’s relevant pension rights for the purposes of this paragraph, where the rules of a pension scheme make provision requiring pension rights which have accrued to a person to be enhanced in consequence of increases in remuneration after the accrual of the pension rights, that provision, and any enhancement resulting from it, shall be treated, so far as relating to any enhancement in consequence of increases in remuneration after the passing of this Act, as pension rights accruing at the time of the increase in remuneration in question.
(6)
An order under this paragraph may make provision for and in connection with the making of elections in a prescribed manner by protected persons for orders under this paragraph (other than orders by virtue of this sub-paragraph) not to have effect with respect to them or their surviving dependants except to such extent (if any) as may be specified in the election or subject to such conditions (if any) as may be so specified.
(7)
In sub-paragraph (6) above “surviving dependant”, in relation to a protected person, means any person who may acquire, in consequence of the death of the protected person, pension rights referable to relevant pension rights of the protected person.
(8)
An order under this paragraph may make provision for such orders to cease to have effect in relation to a protected person if—
(a)
the continuity of his period of employment is broken,
(b)
he voluntarily withdraws from an occupational pension scheme, or
(c)
he requests that his pension rights be transferred from an occupational pension scheme,
except in such circumstances or to such extent as may be prescribed.
(9)
Circumstances may be prescribed in which—
(a)
a break in the continuity of a person’s period of employment, or
(b)
a person’s voluntary withdrawal from an occupational pension scheme,
shall be disregarded for prescribed purposes of this paragraph.
F2(10)
Chapter I of Part XIV of the Employment Rights Act 1996, except section 218(6), shall apply for the purposes of this paragraph as it applies for the purposes of that Act.