The Occupational Pension Schemes (Schemes that were Contracted-out) Regulations 2015

Elections to pay contributions equivalent premiums

11.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the obligation under section 57(2) of the 1993 Act(1) (not to discriminate between different earners when making or abstaining from making elections to pay contributions equivalent premiums) does not apply to cases where—

(a) an earner’s rights are transferred in accordance with regulations made under section 37A of the 1993 Act(2) (transfer of liabilities etc.: schemes contracted-out on or after 6th April 1997);

(b) the earner is a woman who has made, or is treated as having made, an election under regulations made under section 19(4) of the Contributions and Benefits Act, which has not been revoked, that her liability in respect of primary Class 1 contributions is to be at a reduced rate;

(c) on the death of an earner, there arose an entitlement to a widow’s, widower’s or surviving civil partner’s pension which comprises amounts of pension which accrued by reference both to the earner’s service in employment which was not contracted-out and to service in employment which was contracted-out;

(d) the earner—

(i) has completed less than two years qualifying service for the purposes of Chapter 1 of Part IV of the 1993 Act (preservation); and

(ii) has made an election under the rules of the scheme to preserve the earner’s accrued rights; or

(e) any liability to provide pensions to an earner has been discharged in accordance with regulations made under section 12C (transfer, commutation etc.) or 37A of the 1993 Act(3) (as it had effect before the second abolition date).

(2) An employer is not to discriminate between different earners falling within the same class of case mentioned in paragraph (1).

(3) An election under section 55(2) of the 1993 Act is to be notified to the Commissioners in such form as they may reasonably require for the purpose of identifying the earner to whom the election relates.

(4) Such notification is to be given—

(a) where the scheme is being wound up, within the period of two years starting with the date the scheme started to wind up;

(b) where the earner ceased to serve in employment which was contracted-out employment for any other reason mentioned in section 55(2A) of the 1993 Act, within the period starting one month before and ending six months after the date on which the earner so ceased.

(5) The Commissioners may in any particular case or class of case extend the period within which notification of an election is to be given if it appears to them that notification could not reasonably have been given within the period specified in paragraph (4).

(1)

Section 57 is repealed by paragraph 37 of Schedule 13 to the 2014 Act, but saved for certain purposes see S.I. 2015/1502. Section 57 was amended by paragraph 55 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Act 1999.

(2)

Section 37A is inserted by paragraph 25 of Schedule 13 to the 2014 Act.

(3)

Section 12C is repealed by paragraph 11 of Schedule 13 to the 2014 Act, but saved for certain purposes see S.I. 2015/1502.