Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Contracting-out) (Payment and Recovery of Remaining Balances) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 6th April 2000.

(2) In these Regulations-�

"the Act" means the Pension Schemes Act 1993;

"the Inland Revenue" means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue;

"the Northern Ireland Act" means the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993.

Payments of amounts by Inland Revenue

2.-(1) A payment by the Inland Revenue of an amount referred to in-�

(a)subsection (1D) of section 41 of the Act or subsection (1D) of section 37 of the Northern Ireland Act (reduced rates for members of salary related contracted-out schemes-payment of remaining balance);

(b)subsection (2C) of section 42A of the Act or subsection (2C) of section 38A of the Northern Ireland Act (reduced rates for members of money purchase contracted-out schemes-payment of remaining balance);

shall be made in accordance with paragraph (2) below.

(2) The payments shall be made-�

(a)by automated credit transfer into a bank or building society account which relates to the secondary contributor and which accepts payments by automated credit transfer; or

(b)in such other manner as the Inland Revenue may in their discretion approve.

(3) Where an amount to which paragraph (1) above applies would otherwise not be a whole number of pence, it shall be adjusted to the nearest whole number of pence, and any amount of a half penny or less shall be disregarded.

Recovery of amounts by Inland Revenue

3. Where the Inland Revenue are, by virtue of section 41(1E) or 42A(2D) of the Act or section 37(1E) or 42A(2D) of the Northern Ireland Act, entitled to recover an amount from a secondary contributor, that amount-�

(a)may, where the amount was originally paid by automated credit transfer under regulation 2(2)(a) above, be recovered in the same manner; or

(b)may be recovered as a debt owed by the secondary contributor to the Inland Revenue.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made in exercise of powers inserted in sections 41 and 42A of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, and in sections 37 and 38A of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993, by Schedules 9 and 10 respectively to the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999. As the Regulations are accordingly consequential upon enactments contained in that Act, and as they are made no later than six months after the coming into force of those enactments, the Regulations are not subject to the requirement for consultation under section 185 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993.

The Regulations make provision for the manner in which amounts are to be paid to a secondary contributor by the Inland Revenue in circumstances where the total amount of contributions due from that contributor under Part I of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or Part I of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 is insufficient to enable him to reduce the contributions due in respect of particular primary contributors by the full amounts required under the sections mentioned above. Provision is also made for amounts to be adjusted so as to avoid the payment of trivial or fractional amounts.

The Regulations also provide for the manner in which the Inland Revenue may recover any amounts which they have paid to secondary contributors but which they were not required to pay.