Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 1996
| Year | 1996 |
1996 No. 1655
PENSIONS
The Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 1996
Made 26th June 1996
Laid before Parliament 28th June 1996
Coming into force 6th April 1997
The Secretary of State for Social Security, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 113, 168, 181(1) and 182(2) and (3) of the Pension Schemes Act 19931and sections 10(3), 41(1) and (6), 124(1) and 174(2) and (3) of the Pensions Act 19952, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, the Occupational Pensions Board having agreed that the proposals to make these Regulations, to the extent that they are made under the Pension Schemes Act 1993, need not be referred to them3, and the Secretary of State not otherwise being required to consult as the regulations otherwise contained in this instrument are made by virtue of sections 10(3), 41(1) and (6) of the Pensions Act 1995 and are made before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the coming into force of those provisions4, by this instrument, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 1996 and shall come into force on 6th April 1997.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the 1993 Act” means the Pension Schemes Act 1993;
“the 1995 Act” means the Pensions Act 1995;
“accrued rights” has the meaning given in section 124(2) of the 1995 Act;
“active member” has the meaning given in section 124(1) of the 1995 Act;
“the actuary” has the meaning given in section 47(1)(b) of the 1995 Act;
“the auditor” has the meaning given in section 47(1)(a) of the 1995 Act;
“beneficiary”, in relation to a scheme, means a person, other than a member of the scheme, who is entitled to the payment of benefits under the scheme;
“deferred member” has the meaning given in section 124(1) of the 1995 Act;
“employer”, in relation to a member or prospective member of a scheme, means—
(a)
(a) in the case of an employed earner, the secondary contributor (within the meaning of section 7 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19925) in relation to any payment of earnings in respect of the employment concerned, and
(b)
(b) in the case of a self-employed earner, any other person, government department or public authority who has made, or is to make, payments to the scheme in respect of the earner;
“excluded person” means a deferred member whose present address is not known to the trustees and in respect of whom correspondence sent by the trustees to his last address known to the trustees has been returned;
“funded”, in relation to benefits under a scheme, means provided by setting aside resources (other than assets at the disposal of the employer of any person who is employed in relevant employment) in advance which are related to the intended rate or amount of the benefits;
“independent person” has the meaning given in section 23(3) of the 1995 Act;
“independent trade union” has the meaning given in section 235(1) of the Employment Rights Act 19966;
“managers” has the meaning given in section 124(1) of the 1995 Act;
“member” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the 1995 Act;
“money purchase benefits” means benefits the rate or amount of which are calculated by reference to a payment or payments made by the member, or by any other person in respect of the member, and which are not average salary benefits;
“money purchase scheme” means a pension scheme under which all the benefits that may be provided are money purchase benefits;
“multi-employer scheme” means a scheme in relation to which there is more than one employer, which is divided into two or more sections and the provisions of which are such that—
(a)
(a) different sections of the scheme apply to different employers or groups of employers (whether or not more than one section applies to any particular employer or groups including any particular employer),
(b)
(b) contributions payable to the scheme by an employer, or by a member in employment under that employer, are allocated to that employer’s section (or, if more than one section applies to the employer, to the section which is appropriate in respect of the employment in question), and
(c)
(c) a specified part or proportion of the assets of the scheme is attributable to each section and cannot be used for the purposes of any other section;
“normal pension age” has the meaning given by section 180 of the 1993 Act;
“pensionable service” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the 1995 Act;
“pensioner member” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the 1995 Act;
“professional advisers” has the meaning given by section 47 of the 1995 Act;
“prospective member” means any person who, under the terms of his contract of service and the scheme rules—
(a)
(a) is able, at his own option, to become a member of the scheme,
(b)
(b) will become so able if he continues in the same employment for a sufficiently long period,
(c)
(c) will be admitted to it automatically unless he makes an election not to become a member, or
(d)
(d) may be admitted to it subject to the consent of his employer;
“protected rights” has the meaning given by section 10(1) and (2) of the 1993 Act7;
“public service pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1 of the 1993 Act;
“Regulatory Authority” means the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority;
“relevant employment” means any employment to which the scheme relates;
“request” means a request in writing;
“scheme” means an occupational pension scheme;
“scheme year”, in relation to a scheme, means—
(a)
(a) a year specified for the purposes of the scheme in any document comprising the scheme or, if none, a period of 12 months commencing on 1st April or on such other date as the trustees select; or
(b)
(b) such other period (if any) exceeding 6 months but not exceeding 18 months as is selected by the trustees—
(i) in connection with the commencement or termination of the scheme, or
(ii) in connection with a variation of the date on which the year or period referred to in paragraph (a) is to commence;
“simplified defined contribution scheme” means a scheme approved by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue under section 591 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 19888 and which provides benefits which are limited by reference to—
(a)
(a) the aggregate amount of the contributions which can be paid by a member and his employer, and
(b)
(b) the maximum lump sum retirement benefit which can be provided under the scheme;
“tax-approved scheme” means a scheme which is—
(a)
(a) approved by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue for the purposes of sections 590 or 591 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, or
(b)
(b) a statutory scheme as defined in section 611A of that Act9;
“trustees”, in relation to a scheme which is not set up or established under a trust, means the managers of the scheme, except in relation to a scheme established outside the United Kingdom, and in such a case “trustees” means the person or body treated by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue for the time being as the administrator of the scheme for the purposes of Chapter I of Part XIV of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988;
“wholly insured scheme” means a scheme under which all the benefits provided are secured by a policy or policies of insurance or an annuity contract or contracts.
(3) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference—
(a)
(a) in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation in, or, as the case may be, the Schedule to, these Regulations bearing that number;
(b)
(b) in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph of that regulation or Schedule bearing that number;
(c)
(c) in a paragraph to a lettered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph of that paragraph bearing that letter.
Application of these Regulations
2.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), and regulations 6(2), 7(2) and 8, these Regulations apply in relation to a scheme which—
(a)
(a) is, or was formerly, a tax approved scheme (or in respect of which an application for tax approval has been made which has not been determined); or
(b)
(b) is a public service pension scheme.
(2) These Regulations do not apply to a scheme—
(a)
(a) whose members are fewer than 2;
(b)
(b) which provides benefits only in the event of the death of a person who is, immediately before his death, employed in relevant employment; or
(c)
(c) unless—
(i) it is established in the United Kingdom, or
(ii) it has 1 or more trustees resident in the United Kingdom.
(3) Regulations 3 to 7 shall not apply to a scheme established by the Salvation Army Act 196310.
(4) These Regulations do not impose on the trustees of a scheme any duty in relation to—
(a)
(a) any member or prospective member if no person who employs him in relevant employment has informed the trustees that he is a member or prospective member; or
(b)
(b) an independent trade union recognised to any extent for the purposes of collective bargaining in relation to members and prospective members of the scheme if no person who employs any such member or prospective member in relevant employment has informed the trustees that the trade union is so recognised;
(c)
(c) any member where all members are trustees.
Constitution of scheme
3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (5), the trustees of a scheme shall make provision, in the manner specified in paragraph (2), for the disclosure, to persons and trade unions in the categories specified in paragraph (3), of—
(a)
(a) the contents—
(i) of the trust deed constituting the scheme, if it is constituted by such a deed; or
(ii) of any document constituting the scheme, if it is not constituted by a trust deed,
and, if the rules of the scheme are not set out in...
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