Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993
Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993
1993 CHAPTER 8
An Act to make further provision with respect to the pensions and other benefits payable in respect of service in certain judicial, and related, offices and in certain senior public investigative offices; to amend the law relating to the date on which the holders of certain judicial, and related, offices are required to vacate those offices; and for purposes connected therewith.
[29th March 1993]
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
New Arrangements for Judicial Pensions
Application of Part I
1 Persons to whom this Part applies.
(1) This Part applies—
(a) to any person who first holds qualifying judicial office on or after the appointed day;
(b) to any person—
(i) who, immediately before the appointed day, was holding any qualifying judicial office, service in which was, in his case, subject to a judicial pension scheme; and
(c) to any person who was not holding qualifying judicial office immediately before the appointed day, by virtue of having retired from such office, but who, on or after that day, is again appointed to such office; and
(d) to any person who makes an election under subsection (2) below for this Part to apply to him;
but this subsection is subject to the following provisions of this Act.
(2) Any person—
(a) who holds qualifying judicial office on the appointed day, and
(b) who held such office at any time before that day,
shall be entitled, in such circumstances as may be prescribed and subject to subsection (5) below, to make an election for this Part to apply to him, if it would not otherwise do so.
(3) Any election under subsection (2) above must be made within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed and shall be irrevocable.
(4) The circumstances that may be prescribed under subsection (2) above, and the time that may be prescribed under subsection (3) above, include circumstances or times which permit the making of an election notwithstanding that the person in question has retired from qualifying judicial office or has died; and, without prejudice to section 29(3) and (4) below, where any such circumstances or times are so prescribed—
(a) the person in question shall be treated for such purposes as may be prescribed as if he had, at such times as may be prescribed, been a person to whom this Part applies; and
(b) any right to make an election notwithstanding the person's death shall be exercisable by his personal representatives.
(5) Except as provided by section 13 below, this Part does not apply to a person at any time when an election under that section is in force in respect of him; nor shall he make an election under subsection (2) above at any such time.
(6) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be regarded as holding, or serving in, qualifying judicial office at any time when he holds, on a salaried basis, any one or more of the offices specified in Schedule 1 to this Act; and any reference in this Act to a ‘qualifying judicial office’ is a reference to any office so specified if it is held on a salaried basis.
(7) For the purposes of subsection (6) above, a person holds an office ‘on a salaried basis’ if and so long as, and to the extent that—
(a) his service in the office is remunerated by payment of a salary; and
(b) that salary is not subject to terms which preclude rights to pensions and other benefits accruing by reference to it;
and the reference in that subsection to an office being held on a salaried basis shall be construed accordingly.
(8) The appropriate Minister may by order amend either Part of Schedule 1 to this Act by adding offices to those for the time being there specified.
(9) In this section, ‘prescribed’ means prescribed in regulations made by the appropriate Minister.
(10) In this Part ‘the appointed day’ means the day appointed under section 31 below for the coming into force of this Part other than subsection (8) above.
Pensions for judicial officers
2 The judicial officer's entitlement to a pension.
(1) Any person to whom this Part applies—
(a) who retires from qualifying judicial office on or after the day on which he attains the age of 65, and
(b) who has, at the time of that retirement, completed, in the aggregate, at least 5 years' service in qualifying judicial office,
shall be entitled during his life to a pension at the appropriate annual rate.
(2) Any person to whom this Part applies—
(a) who retires from qualifying judicial office on or after the day on which he attains the age of 60, but before attaining the age of 65, and
(b) who has, at the time of that retirement, completed, in the aggregate, at least 5 years' service in qualifying judicial office,
shall be entitled during his life to a pension at the appropriate annual rate, actuarially reduced.
(3) In any case where—
(a) a person to whom this Part applies retires from qualifying judicial office before he has attained the age of 65 or before he has completed, in the aggregate, at least 5 years' service in such office, and
(b) the appropriate Minister is satisfied by means of a medical certificate that, by reason of infirmity of mind or body, the person is incapable of discharging the duties of his qualifying judicial office and that the incapacity is likely to be permanent,
the person shall be entitled during his life to a pension at the appropriate annual rate (and subsection (2) above shall not have effect in relation to that retirement, notwithstanding that the conditions in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection may be satisfied in the particular case).
(4) Where a person to whom this Part applies is removed from a qualifying judicial office, his removal from that office shall be treated for the purposes of this Part as his retirement from qualifying judicial office; and if—
(a) he has not attained the age of 60 at the date of that retirement, and
(b) the appropriate Minister recommends that his accrued rights under this Part should be given immediate effect,
the person shall be entitled during his life to a pension at the appropriate annual rate, actuarially reduced.
(5) Where a person to whom a pension under this section has commenced to be paid resumes service in qualifying judicial office—
(a) the resumption of service shall not affect his entitlement to payment of the pension for any period before the resumption,
(b) he shall not be entitled to payment of the pension for any period during the resumed service, and
(c) at the end of the period of resumed service—
(i) his entitlement (and that of any other person) to a pension or other benefit under this Part, and
(ii) the rate or amount of any such pension or other benefit,
shall be determined (subject to section 4(4) below) as if no pension under this section had previously commenced to be paid to him.
(6) A pension under this section shall be payable at such intervals, not exceeding three months, as the Treasury may determine.
(7) For the purposes of this Part—
(a) in determining the length of a person's period of service in any qualifying judicial office, it is immaterial whether he works full-time or part-time, but if he holds two or more qualifying judicial offices concurrently, no day shall be counted more than once;
(b) in determining the length of a person's period of service in any qualifying judicial office, there shall be left out of account—
(i) any service in such office...
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