(1)Except in such cases as may be prescribed, and except so far as is necessary to ensure that an occupational pension scheme or a personal pension scheme has, or may be expected to qualify for, tax-exemption or tax-approval, the rules of the scheme—
(a)must not prohibit, or allow any person to prohibit, the payment by a member of voluntary contributions;
(b)must not impose, or allow any person to impose, any upper or lower limit on the payment by a member of voluntary contributions;
(c)must secure that any voluntary contributions paid by a member are to be used by the trustees or managers of the scheme to provide additional benefits for or in respect of him; and
(d)must secure that the value of the additional benefits is reasonable, having regard—
(i)to the amount of the voluntary contributions; and
(ii)to the value of the other benefits under the scheme.
(2)The requirements specified in this section are in this Act referred to as “the voluntary contributions requirements”.
(3)This section does not apply in relation to any pension payable under—
(a)Part II of the M1Judicial Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 1951;
(b)Part XIII of the M2County Courts Act (Northern Ireland) 1959;
(c)the M3Resident Magistrates’ Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 1960;
(d)section 2 of the M4Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1969;
(e)the M5Judicial Pensions Act 1981; or
(f)the M6Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993;
and accordingly none of the provisions of this Act shall, in so far as it has effect in relation to the voluntary contributions requirements, apply to any such pension.
Marginal Citations