The European Parliamentary (United Kingdom Representatives) Pensions (Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme) (No. 2) Order 1995

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order—

“the Pensions Act 1993” means the Pension Schemes Act 1993(1);

“the Taxes Act 1988” means the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988(2);

“the 1993 Regulations” means the Retirement Benefits Schemes (Restriction on Discretion to Approve) (Additional Voluntary Contributions) Regulations 1993(3);

“the principal Order” means the European Parliamentary (United Kingdom Representatives) Pensions (Consolidation and Amendment) Order 1994(4);

“approved scheme” means a retirement benefits scheme approved under Chapter I, Part XIV of the Taxes Act 1988;

“the AVC scheme” means the European Parliamentary (United Kingdom Representatives) Pensions Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme set out in this Order;

“Class A contributor” means any contributor who joined the principal scheme on or after 1st June 1989 or any Class B contributor who has elected to become a Class A contributor(5);

“Class B contributor” means any contributor who joined the principal scheme on or after 17th March 1987 and before 1st June 1989 and has not elected to become a Class A contributor;

“Class C contributor” means any contributor who joined the principal scheme before 17th March 1987;

“contribution”, except in article 5(3), includes a transfer value;

“contributor” means a person admitted to participation in the AVC scheme in accordance with article 4(1);

“death in service benefits” are benefits payable in respect of a contributor who dies in service;

“dependant” of a contributor means the contributor’s spouse, and any relevant child or children of the contributor as defined by article 14(5) of and Schedule 5 to the principal Order;

“final remuneration” is defined in Schedule 1;

“FSAVC scheme” means an additional voluntary contribution scheme which is an approved scheme to which an employer does not contribute;

“index” at any time, means the index of retail prices published in the Central Statistical Office of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, or any successor agreed as appropriate by the Board of Inland Revenue, for the calendar month three months prior to that time;

“maximum pension” has the meaning assigned to it by article 11 and Schedule 2;

“permitted maximum” for any tax year means the figure specified for that tax year in an order made under section 590C of the Taxes Act 1988(6);

“personal pension scheme” means a scheme approved under Chapter IV Part XIV of the Taxes Act 1988;

“the principal scheme” means the scheme set out in the principal Order;

“retained benefits” means benefits for a contributor derived from—

(a)

a retirement benefits scheme approved or seeking approval under Chapter I Part XIV of the Taxes Act 1988;

a relevant statutory scheme as defined in section 611A of the Taxes Act 1988(7);

(b)

a fund to which section 608 of the Taxes Act 1988 applies;

(c)

a retirement benefits scheme which has been accepted by the Board of Inland Revenue as “corresponding” for the purposes of section 596(2)(b)(8) of the Taxes Act 1988;

(d)

(i)

a retirement annuity contract or trust scheme approved under section 620 of the Taxes Act 1988; or

(ii)

a personal pension scheme (other than an arrangement to which only minimum contributions are paid)

which relates to relevant earnings from the current employment, or previous employment (including a period of self employment whether alone or in partnership);

(e)

a transfer payment from an overseas scheme held in a type of arrangement defined in (a) or (d) above;

including such benefits which have been transferred to another scheme, whether or not in the United Kingdom, but excluding such benefits which relate to service with an unassociated employer which is concurrent with service and, in the case of benefits listed in sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e) above, excluding benefits in respect of service;

provided that:

(i)

if the total of the retained benefits is less than a pension of £260 those retained benefits may be disregarded; and

(ii)

if the contributor’s earnings in the 12 months after entry to the principal scheme do not exceed one quarter of the permitted maximum, benefits from those sources, other than those transferred into the principal scheme, shall not be classed as retained benefits;

“retained death benefits” shall mean any lump sum benefits payable on the contributor’s death derived from the sources set out in the definition of retained benefits above, but if the total of retained death benefit is less than £2,500 it may be disregarded; provided that benefits representing a return of the contributor’s own contributions plus interest thereon and benefit derived from a return of funds under retirement annuity contracts approved under section 620 of the Taxes Act 1988 or personal pension schemes may be ignored for this purpose;

“retirement benefits” are benefits payable to or in respect of a contributor at or after his retirement;

“retirement benefits scheme” means a scheme within the meaning of section 611 of the Taxes Act 1988;

“the Managers” are the Managers for the time being appointed under article 3(1) of the principal Order;

and other expressions shall have the same meaning as in the principal Order.

(2) In this Order, except where the context otherwise requires:

(a) a reference to a numbered article or Schedule is a reference to the article of, or the Schedule to, this Order so numbered; and

(b) a reference in an article or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that article or Schedule so numbered.

(1)

1993 c. 48.

(2)

1988 c. 1.

(3)

S.I. 1993/3016.

(4)

S.I. 1994/1662.

(5)

By virtue of paragraph 29 of Schedule 6 to the Finance Act 1989, a person who became a member of a scheme on or after 17th March 1987 and before 1st June 1989 may give notice to the administrators of the scheme that he wishes to be deemed to have become a member of the scheme on 1st June 1989.

(6)

Section 590C was inserted into the Taxes Act 1988 by the Finance Act 1989 (c. 26), Schedule 6, paragraphs 4 and 18(2).

(7)

Section 611A was inserted by the Finance Act 1989 (c. 26), paragraphs 15 and 18(1).

(8)

Section 596(2) was amended by the Finance Act 1989 (c. 26) Schedule 6, paragraphs 8(1), (3) and 18(5).