Occupational Pension Schemes (Independent Trustee) Regulations 1997

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1997/252
Year1997

1997 No. 252

PENSIONS

The Occupational Pension Schemes (Independent Trustee) Regulations 1997

Made 6th February 1997

Laid before Parliament 12th February 1997

Coming into force 6th April 1997

The Secretary of State for Social Security, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 23(3)(c), 118(1)(a), (b) and (c), 118(2), 124(1)1, 125(3), 174(2) to (4) and 180(4) of the Pensions Act 19952and sections 113(1)(d), (3) and (4) and 168(1) and (4)3of the Pension Schemes Act 19934and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consultation with such persons as he considers appropriate5and after agreement with the Occupational Pensions Board that regulation 7 of these Regulations should not be referred to them6, hereby makes the following Regulations:

S-1 Citation, commencement and interpretation

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Independent Trustee) Regulations 1997 and shall come into force on 6th April 1997.

(2) In these Regulations “the 1995 Act” means the Pensions Act 1995 and any expressions used in these Regulations have the same meaning as in Part I of that Act.

S-2 Additional requirement for independent trustee

Additional requirement for independent trustee

2. For the purposes of section 23(3) of the 1995 Act (which sets out the requirements which must be satisfied for a person to be an independent trustee) the prescribed requirements are—

(a) that the person—

(i) has not provided services in relation to the scheme to the trustees or the employer at any time since the day which fell 3 years before section 22 of that Act started to apply in relation to the scheme; and

(ii) is not connected with, nor an associate of, a person who has provided such services since that day; and

(b) that the person—

(i) has had no interest in the assets of the employer or of the scheme (otherwise than as a trustee of the scheme) at any time since the day referred to in sub-paragraph (a); and

(ii) is neither connected with, nor an associate of a person who has such an interest or has had at any time since that day.

S-3 Multi-employer schemes

Multi-employer schemes

3.—(1) Sections 22 to 26 of the 1995 Act are modified as described in this regulation in their application to any trust scheme in relation to which there is more than one employer (“a multi-employer scheme”).

(2) Section 22 applies in relation to a multi-employer scheme only if—

(a)

(a) an employer in relation to whom an insolvency practitioner has begun to act, or the offificial receiver has become liquidator or provisional liquidator, or of whose estate the official receiver has become receiver and manager or trustee—

(i) has, or has had at any time since the day which fell 3 years before section 22 of the 1995 Act started to apply in relation to the scheme, power to appoint or to remove any trustee, or any director of a company which is a trustee, of the scheme; or

(ii) is a trustee of the scheme; and

(b)

(b) either—

(i) no other employer is a trustee of the scheme or has power to appoint or to remove any trustee, or any director of a company which is a trustee, of the scheme; or

(ii) another employer is a trustee or has such power, but he is an employer in relation to whom an insolvency practitioner has begun to act or the official receiver has become liquidator or provisional liquidator or of whose estate the official receiver has become receiver and manager or trustee.

(3) Where section 22 applies in relation to a multi-employer scheme, references to the employer in that section and in sections 23 to 25 are to be treated as references to each employer referred to in paragraph (2)(a).

(4) Where section 22 applies in relation to a multi-employer scheme, it shall not cease to do so by virtue of subsection (2)(a) of that section unless the power to appoint or to remove any trustee of the scheme is transferred to the new employer or to any person who is independent for the purposes of section 23(1).

S-4 Cases where a partnership is the employer

Cases where a partnership is the employer

4.—(1) Sections 22 to 26 of the 1995 Act are modified as described in this regulation in their application to any case where—

(a)

(a) a partnership is the employer or one of the employers in relation to a trust scheme;

(b)

(b) the partnership is insolvent; and

(c)

(c) the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction to wind up the insolvent partnership7.

(2) Section 22 applies in relation to the scheme—

(a)

(a) if a person begins to act as an insolvency practitioner in relation to the insolvent partnership; or

(b)

(b) if the official receiver becomes the liquidator or provisional liquidator of the insolvent partnership.

(3) Where section 22 applies in relation to the scheme, references to a company are to be treated as including any insolvent partnership that a court in England and Wales has jurisdiction to wind up.

S-5 Exemptions

Exemptions

5.—(1) Sections 22 to 26 of the 1995 Act shall not apply to any of the following schemes—

(a)

(a) a scheme of which each member is a trustee;

(b)

(b) a money purchase scheme;

(c)

(c) a scheme—

(i) the only benefits provided by which are death benefits; and

(ii) under the provisions of which no member has accrued rights;

(d)

(d) a scheme under which all the benefits to be provided are secured by one or more policies of insurance or annuity contracts and such policies or contracts are specifically allocated to the provision of benefits for individual members or any other person who has a right to benefits under the scheme;

(e)

(e) a scheme which would be a money purchase scheme but for the fact that it provides guaranteed minimum pensions;

(f)

(f) a scheme which provides relevant benefits but is neither an approved scheme nor a relevant statutory scheme;

(g)

(g) a section 615(6) scheme.

(2) In this regulation—

“approved scheme” means a scheme which is approved or was formerly approved under section 590 or 591 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 19888(“the Taxes Act”) or in respect of which an application for such approval has been duly made but has not been determined;

“guaranteed minimum pension” has the same meaning as in the Pension Schemes Act 19939;

“relevant benefits” has the same meaning as in section 612(1) of the Taxes Act;

“relevant statutory scheme” has the same meaning as in section 611A of the Taxes Act10;

“section 615(6) scheme” means a scheme with such a superannuation fund as is mentioned in section 615(6) of the Taxes Act.

S-6 Meaning of “employer” in relation to schemes with no members in employment to which the scheme relates

Meaning of “employer” in relation to schemes with no members in employment to which the scheme relates

6. For the purposes of sections 22 to 26 of the 1995 Act and these Regulations, where there are no members in employment to which the scheme in question relates, references to the...

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