The Pension Sharing (Pension Credit Benefit) Regulations 2000

Commutation of the whole of pension credit benefit

3.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4) and regulation 9 of the Pension Sharing (Safeguarded Rights) Regulations 2000(1) (ways of giving effect to safeguarded rights—salary related schemes), the circumstances in which the whole of the pension credit benefit may be commuted for the purposes of section 101C(2) of the 1993 Act (payment of pension credit benefit in the form of a lump sum before normal benefit age) are those described in paragraph (2).

(2) The circumstances described in this paragraph are that—

(a) the person entitled to the pension credit benefit is suffering from serious ill health prior to normal benefit age; or

(b) the aggregate of total benefits payable to the person under an occupational pension scheme, including any pension credit benefit, does not exceed £260 per annum.

(3) This regulation does not apply to an occupational pension scheme which is approved under section 590 of the Taxes Act(2) (mandatory approval).

(4) In this regulation, “serious ill health” means ill health which is such as to give rise to a life expectancy of less than one year from the date on which commutation of the pension credit benefit is applied for.

(1)

S.I. 2000/1055.

(2)

Section 590 was amended by section 35 of, and paragraphs 1, and 18(1), (2) of Part I of Schedule 3 to, the Finance Act 1988 (c. 39), sections 75 and 187(1) of, and paragraphs 1, 3(1) to (4), and 18(2) and (3) of Part I of Schedule 6, and Part IV of Schedule 17 to, the Finance Act 1989 (c. 26), and by sections 34, 36(2), (3), and 123 of, and Part V of Schedule 19 to, the Finance Act 1991 (c. 31).