Dormant Assets Act 2022

7 Meaning of “dormant” in relation to eligible pension benefits

(1) For the purposes of this Act eligible pension benefits are “dormant” at a particular time if any of the following four conditions are met at that time.

(2) The first condition is that the responsible institution—

(a) has been notified that the person in respect of whom the benefits are payable has died, and

(b) is satisfied that there is no person—

(i) to whom the benefits are payable (in the case of benefits mentioned in section 6(1)(a) or (b)), or

(ii) entitled to elect to receive payment (in the case of benefits mentioned in section 6(1)(c)).

(3) The second condition is that—

(a) there has been a period of at least 7 years since the responsible institution was notified that the person in respect of whom the benefits are payable has died, and

(b) the responsible institution has not received any communication since that time from—

(i) anyone administering the estate of that person, or

(ii) a person mentioned in subsection (2)(b) (or a person acting on behalf of that person).

(4) The third condition is that—

(a) the responsible institution is satisfied that the person in respect of whom the benefits are payable would be at least 120 years old, and

(b) the responsible institution has not received any communication from—

(i) anyone administering the estate of that person, or

(ii) the person mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (2)(b) (or a person acting on behalf of that person),

during the preceding 7 years.

(5) The fourth condition, in the case of pension benefits consisting of benefits mentioned in section 6(1)(a), is that—

(a) the pension benefits have become payable by virtue of the pension contract term ending,

(b) a period of at least 7 years has elapsed since the end of the term, and

(c) the responsible institution has not received any communication from the person to whom the benefits are payable (or a person acting on behalf of that person) since that time.

(6) In this section “responsible institution” means the pension institution that is responsible, in relation to the benefits concerned, for doing any of the following—

(a) receiving notification of the kind mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (3)(a),

(b) making an assessment of the kind mentioned in subsection (2)(b) or (4)(a), and

(c) receiving communications as mentioned in subsection (3)(b), (4)(b) or (5)(c).