(1)Section 591 of the Taxes Act 1988 (discretionary approval of retirement benefits schemes) shall be amended as follows.
(2)In subsection (2)(g) (annuity contracts)—
(a)after “relevant benefits” there shall be inserted “falling within subsection (2A) below”;
(b)the words “approved by the Board and” shall be omitted.
(3)The following subsection shall be inserted after subsection (2)—
“(2A)Relevant benefits fall within this subsection if they correspond with benefits that could be provided by an approved scheme, and for this purpose—
(a)a hypothetical scheme (rather than any particular scheme) is to be taken, and
(b)benefits provided by a scheme directly (rather than by means of an annuity contract) are to be taken.”
(4)This section shall apply in relation to a scheme not approved by virtue of section 591 of the Taxes Act 1988 before 1st July 1994.