Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 1975
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1975/2101 |
| Year | 1975 |
1975 No. 2101
PENSIONS
The Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 197511thDecember 1975
19thDecember 1975
9thJanuary 1976
The Secretary of State for Social Services, in exercise of the powers conferred upon her by sections 32(2)(b), 38(1), 39(1) and (4)(b), 40(1), (2) and (4), 51 and 52 of, and paragraphs 1, 5, 6(1), 7(2)(b) and 9 of Schedule 2 to, the Social Security Pensions Act 1975(a) and of all other powers enabling her in that behalf, hereby makes the following regulations:—
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) Regulations 1975, and shall come into operation on 9th January 1976.
(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
"the Act" means the Social Security Pensions Act 1975;
"administrator", in relation to an occupational pension scheme, means the person or persons resident in the United Kingdom having the management of the scheme;
"the Board" means the Occupational Pensions Board;
"responsible paying authority" means—
(a) in relation to a public service scheme, the authority responsible for paying the benefits of that scheme;
(b) in relation to a scheme, not being a scheme set up or established under an irrevocable trust, where the benefits, or so much of the benefits as represent guaranteed minimum pensions, are secured by means of a policy of insurance or annuity contract in accordance with regulation 4 below, the insurance company or friendly society with which the policy of insurance is taken out or the contract entered into;
(c) in relation to a deferred annuity under regulation 4(3) below, the insurance company or friendly society with which the insurance policy is taken out or the contract entered into; and
(d) in any other case, the trustees or (in the event of there being no trustees) the administrator of the scheme;
"scheme" means an occupational pension scheme;
and other expressions have the same meanings as in the Act.
(a) 1975 c. 60.
(3) Any reference in these regulations to any provision made by or contained in any enactment or instrument shall, except in so far as the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that provision as amended or extended by any enactment or instrument and as including a reference to any provision which it re-enacts or replaces, or which may re-enact or replace it, with or without modification.
(4) The rules for the construction of Acts of Parliament contained in the Interpretation Act 1889(a) shall apply for the purposes of the interpretation of these regulations as they apply for the purposes of the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
Specific scheme rules about guaranteed minimum pensions
2.—(1) For a scheme to be contracted-out in relation to an earner's employment it must include a specific rule to the effect that if an earner has a guaranteed minimum under section 35 of the Act the weekly rate of his pension under the scheme at pensionable age shall not be less than that guaranteed minimum, and also to the effect that if a male earner has a guaranteed minimum under section 35 of the Act the weekly rate of pension payable to his widow under the scheme shall be not less than half that guaranteed minimum, these rules to be expressed to override all other provisions of the scheme, except any that are in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
(2) In paragraph (1) above " weekly rate " means, in cases where the pension is paid otherwise than at weekly intervals, a rate which is equivalent to the earner's guaranteed minimum having regard to the period in respect of which the pension is paid.
Derivation of resources of schemes
3. For the purposes of section 40(1)(b) of the Act (a scheme can be contracted out only if the derivation of its resources satisfies certain requirements) the following are the prescribed payments:—
(a) in the case of a scheme whose members include persons employed by Her Majesty in Her private capacity, payments made by Her Majesty out of Her private resources; and
(b) in the case of a scheme relating to persons employed by the Duke of Lancaster or by the Duke of Cornwall, payments made out of the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster or of the Duchy of Cornwall.
Means of securing guaranteed minimum pensions
4.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, for the purposes of section 40(2)(a) of the Act (means by which guaranteed minimum pensions are secured), guaranteed minimum pensions under contracted-out schemes shall be secured by one or more of the following means, that is to say, irrevocable trust, policy of insurance or annuity contract which is a trust, policy or contract, as the case may be, established, taken out or entered into by a person resident, or having a place of business, in the United Kingdom, and which satisfies the conditions specified in paragraph (2) of this regulation.
(a) 1889 c. 63.
(2) The conditions referred to in the preceding paragraph are—
(a) in the case of an irrevocable trust, that the trust is subject to the laws of any part of the United Kingdom;
(b) in the case of a policy of insurance or annuity contract, that the policy is taken out, or the contract is entered into, with either—
(i) an insurance company to which Part II of the Insurance Companies Act 1974(a) or the Insurance Companies Act (Northern Ireland) 1968(b) applies and which is authorised by or under section 3 of the Insurance Companies Act 1974 or section 4 of the Insurance Companies Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 to carry on ordinary long-term insurance business as defined in those Acts, or
(ii) a friendly society enabled under regulations made under section 71(1) of the Social Security Act 1973(c) as amended by section 4 of the Social Security Amendment Act 1974(d), or under article 67 of the Social Security Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1975(e) to...
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