Social Security Act 1986
Social Security Act 1986
1986 CHAPTER 50
An Act to make provision in relation to personal pension schemes, to amend the law relating to social security, occupational pension schemes and the provision of refreshments for school pupils, to abolish maternity pay under the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 and provide for the winding-up of the Maternity Pay Fund, to empower the Secretary of State to pay the travelling expenses of certain persons, and for connected purposes.
[25th July 1986]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Pensions
Personal pension schemes
1 Minimum contributions to personal pension schemes.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, the Secretary of State shall pay, except in such circumstances as may be prescribed, minimum contributions in respect of an employed earner for any period during which the earner—
(a ) is over the age of 16 but has not attained pensionable age;
(b ) is not a married woman or widow who has made an election which is still operative that her liability in respect of primary Class 1 contributions shall be a liability to contribute at a reduced rate; and
(c ) is a member of an appropriate personal pension scheme which is for the time being the earner's chosen scheme.
(2) Regulations may make provision as to the manner in which, and time at which or period within which, minimum contributions are to be paid.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, the Secretary of State shall pay minimum contributions in respect of an earner to the trustees or managers of the earner's chosen scheme.
(4) In such circumstances as may be prescribed the Secretary of State shall pay minimum contributions to a prescribed person.
(5) Where any of the conditions mentioned in subsections above ceases to be satisfied in the case of an earner in respect of whom the Secretary of State is required to pay minimum contributions, the duty of the Secretary of State to pay them shall cease as from a date determined in accordance with regulations.
(6) If the Secretary of State pays an amount by way of minimum contributions which he is not required to pay, he may recover it from the person to whom he paid it or from any person in respect of whom he paid it.
(7) If he pays in respect of an earner an amount by way of minimum contributions which he is required to pay, but does not pay it to the trustees or managers of the earner's chosen scheme, he may recover it from the person to whom he paid it or from the earner.
(8) A personal pension scheme is an appropriate scheme if there is in force a certificate (in this Act referred to as an ‘appropriate scheme certificate’) issued by the Occupational Pensions Board in accordance with section 2 below that it is such a scheme.
(9) Where an earner and the trustees or managers of an appropriate personal pension scheme have jointly given notice to the Secretary of State, in such manner and form and with such supporting evidence as may be prescribed—
(a ) that the earner is, or intends to become, a member of the scheme and wishes minimum contributions in respect of him to be paid to the scheme;
(b ) that the trustees or managers have agreed to accept him as a member of the scheme and to receive minimum contributions in respect of him,
that scheme is the earner's chosen scheme as from a date determined in accordance with regulations and specified in the notice, unless at that date some other appropriate scheme is the earner's chosen scheme.
(10) Either an earner or the trustees or managers of a scheme may cancel a notice under subsection (9) above by giving notice to that effect to the Secretary of State at such time and in such manner and form as may be prescribed.
(11) Where a notice under subsection (10) above is given, the scheme ceases to be the earner's chosen scheme as from a date determined in accordance with regulations and specified in the notice.
2 Appropriate schemes.
(1) Regulations shall provide—
(a ) for the issue of appropriate scheme certificates by the Occupational Pensions Board;
(b ) for the cancellation, variation or surrender of any such certificate, or the issue of an amended certificate, on any relevant change of circumstances; and
(c ) that any question whether a personal pension scheme is or at any time was an appropriate scheme shall be determined by the Board.
(2) A scheme can be an appropriate scheme only if the requirements imposed by or by virtue of Schedule 1 to this Act are satisfied in its case.
(3) An appropriate scheme certificate may be withheld or cancelled by the Board if they consider that there are circumstances which make it inexpedient that it should be or continue to be an appropriate scheme, notwithstanding that they would otherwise issue such a certificate or not cancel such a certificate.
(4) Where by or by virtue of any provision of Schedule 1 to this Act a scheme's being an appropriate scheme depends on the satisfaction of a particular condition, the scheme's continuing to be an appropriate scheme shall be dependent on continued satisfaction of the condition; and if the condition ceases to be satisfied that shall be a ground (without prejudice to any other) for the cancellation or variation of an appropriate scheme certificate.
(5) Except in prescribed circumstances, no appropriate scheme certificate and no cancellation, variation or surrender of such a certificate shall have effect from a date earlier than that on which the certificate is issued or the cancellation, variation or surrender is made.
(6) An appropriate scheme certificate for the time being in force in relation to a scheme shall be conclusive that the scheme is an appropriate scheme.
(7) Every assignment of or charge on and every agreement to assign or charge protected rights or payments giving effect to protected rights shall be void.
(8) On the bankruptcy of a person who is entitled to protected rights or a payment giving effect to protected rights, any protected rights or payment the assignment of which is or would be made void by subsection (7) above shall not pass to any trustee or person acting on behalf of his creditors.
(9) In the application of this section to Scotland—
(a ) references to assignment shall be construed as references to assignation and ‘assign’ shall be construed accordingly; and
(b ) the reference to a person's bankruptcy shall be construed as a reference to the sequestration of his estate or the appointment on his estate of a judicial factor under section 41 of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 .
3 Amount of minimum contributions.
(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, in relation to any tax week falling within a period for which the Secretary of State is required to pay minimum contributions in respect of an earner, the amount of those contributions shall be the aggregate of—
(a ) the rebate percentage of so much of any earnings paid to or for the benefit of the earner with respect to any employment which is not contracted-out employment in relation to him as exceeds the lower earnings limit but does not exceed the upper earnings limit; and
(b ) where the tax week ends before 6th April 1993, 2 per cent. of any such earnings or, if 2 per cent. of any such earnings is less than 1.00 and the prescribed person applies within such time, in such form and manner and with such supporting evidence as may be prescribed, 1.00.
(2) In relation to earnings paid with respect to any such employment as may be prescribed, subsection (1) above shall have effect as if the words ‘the aggregate of’ and paragraph (b )and the word ‘and’ immediately preceding it were omitted.
(3) In subsection (1) above—
‘employment’ means employed earner's employment; and
‘rebate percentage’ means the percentage arrived at by adding—
(a ) the percentage by which for the time being under section 27(2) of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 the contracted-out percentage of primary Class 1 contributions is less than the normal percentage; and
(b ) the percentage by which for the time being under that subsection the contracted-out percentage of secondary Class 1 contributions is less than the normal percentage.
(4) The references to the upper and lower earnings limits in subsection (1)(a ) above are references, in the case of an earner who is paid otherwise than weekly, to their prescribed equivalents under section 4(2) and (6) of the Social Security Act 1975 .
(5) Regulations may provide—
(a ) that earnings shall be calculated or estimated in such manner and on such basis as may be prescribed for the purpose of determining whether any, and if so what, minimum contributions are payable in respect of them;
(b ) for the adjustment of the amount which would otherwise be payable by way of minimum contributions so as to avoid...
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