The Pension Sharing (Pension Credit Benefit) Regulations 2000

Means of assuring pension credit benefit

5.—(1) The prescribed means by which a person’s pension credit benefit under a scheme must be assured for the purposes of section 101D(1)(b) of the 1993 Act (form of pension credit benefit and its alternatives) is by means of a transaction to which section 19 of the 1993 Act (discharge of liability where guaranteed minimum pensions are secured by insurance policies or annuity contracts) applies.

(2) A transaction referred to in paragraph (1) must satisfy the requirements of regulation 12, 13 or 14 (discharge of liability where pension credit benefit or alternative benefits are secured by insurance policies or annuity contracts, conditions on which insurance policies and annuity contracts may be commuted, or other requirements applying to insurance policies and annuity contracts).

(3) Where a transaction referred to in paragraph (1) applies, the insurance policy must be taken out, or the annuity contract must be entered into, with an insurance company which is—

(a) authorised under section 3 or 4 of the Insurance Companies Act 1982(1) (authorisation of insurance business) to carry on long term business (within the meaning of section 1 of that Act(2) (classification));

(b) in the case of a friendly society, authorised under section 32 of the Friendly Societies Act 1992(3) (grant of authorisation by Commission: general) to carry out long term business under any of the Classes specified in Head A of Schedule 2 to that Act (the activities of a friendly society: long term business); or

(c) an EC company as defined in section 2(6) of the Insurance Companies Act 1982(4) (restriction on carrying on insurance business), and which falls within paragraph (4).

(4) An EC company falls within this paragraph if it—

(a) carries on ordinary long-term insurance business (within the meaning of section 96(1) of the Insurance Companies Act 1982(5)) in the United Kingdom through a branch in respect of which such of the requirements of Part I of Schedule 2F to that Act(6) (recognition in the United Kingdom of EC and EFTA companies: EC companies carrying on business etc. in the United Kingdom) as are applicable have been complied with; or

(b) provides ordinary long term insurance in the United Kingdom and such of the requirements of Part I of Schedule 2F to that Act as are applicable have been complied with in respect of insurance.

(1)

1982 c. 50, as amended by the European Economic Area Act 1993 (c. 51).

(2)

Section 1 was amended by S.I. 1990/1159.

(3)

1992 c. 40. Section 32 was amended by S.I. 1994/1984.

(4)

Section 2 was amended by regulation 2(a) of S.I. 1987/2130, section 300(2) of, and paragraph 31 of Schedule 2 to, the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (c. 52), regulation 4(2) of S.I. 1994/1696 and regulation 3(1) of S.I. 1994/3132.

(5)

There are amendments to section 96(1) which are not relevant to these Regulations.

(6)

Schedule 2F was inserted by S.I. 1996/1696.