Part IV N.I. Protection for Early Leavers

Chapter I N.I. Preservation of Benefit Under Occupational Schemes

66 Interpretation (Part IV). N.I.

(1) In this Chapter—

• “scheme” means an occupational pension scheme to which this Chapter applies;

• “relevant employment”, in relation to a scheme, means any employment to which the scheme applies;

• “long service benefit”, in relation to a scheme, means the benefits which will be payable under the scheme, in accordance with legal obligation, to or in respect of a member of the scheme on the assumption—

  (a)

  that he remains in relevant employment, and

  (b)

  that he continues to render service which qualifies him for benefits,

  until he attains normal pension age; and in this definition “benefits” means—

  (i)

  retirement benefit for the member himself at normal pension age, or

  (ii)

  benefit for the member’s [F1 wife, husband, civil partner, widow, widower or surviving civil partner], or dependants, or others, on his attaining that age or his later death, or

  (iii)

  both such descriptions of benefit.

(2) In this Act “pensionable service”, in relation to a scheme and a member of it, means, subject to subsection (3), service in relevant employment which qualifies the member (on the assumption that it continues for the appropriate period) for long service benefit under the scheme.

(3) There shall be taken into account as pensionable service only actual service, that is to say—

(a) service notionally attributable for any purposes of the scheme is not to be regarded as pensionable service; and

(b) no account is to be taken of scheme rules by which a period of service can be treated for any purpose as being longer or shorter than it actually is.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 66(1) substituted (5.12.2005) by The Civil Partnership (Pensions and Benefit Payments) (Consequential, etc. Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2005 (S.R. 2005/434), art. 1(3), Sch. para. 12