Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) (Special Calculations) Regulations, 2002

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2002
• Citation: IR SI 277/2002

The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 and 37 of the Pensions Act, 1990 , (No. 25 of 1990) hereby makes the following Regulations:-
	Short Title and Collective Citation	1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) (Special Calculations) Regulations, 2002.
(2) The Principal Regulations and these Regulations shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) Regulations, 2002.
(3) The Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) (Special Calculations) Regulations, 1993 ( SI No. 217 of 1993 ) are hereby revoked.
	Definitions	2. In these Regulations -
“the Act” means the Pensions Act, 1990 ;
“appropriate contributions” shall be construed in accordance with articles 7 and 8 of these Regulations;
“defined benefit scheme” means, subject to sub-article (5) of article 4, a scheme which is not a defined contribution scheme;
“defined contribution scheme” means, subject to sub-article (5) of article 4, a scheme which, under its rules, provides long service benefit, the rate or amount of which is in total directly determined by the amount of the contributions paid by or in respect of the member and includes a scheme the contributions under which are used, directly or indirectly, to provide -
(a) benefits, other than long service benefit, and
(b) long service benefit the rate or amount of which is in total directly determined by the part of the contributions aforesaid that is used for the provision of the long service benefit;
“final scheme” means the scheme in which the member was in reckonable service immediately prior to termination of relevant employment;
“preserved benefit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 28(2) of the Act;
“the Principal Regulations” means the Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) Regulations, 2002 ( S.I. No. 279 of 2002 );
	Commencement.	3. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 2nd day of June, 2002.
	Calculation of Preserved Benefits.	4. (1) Where on termination of relevant employment a member has periods of reckonable service in more than one scheme relating to the same employment the preserved benefit in respect of such member shall be calculated in accordance with these Regulations.
(2) Where the period or periods of reckonable service relate to a defined benefit scheme, subject to sub-article (3) of this article, the preserved benefit in respect of each such period shall be calculated in accordance with articles 5 and 6 of these Regulations. Where the period or periods of reckonable service relate to a defined contribution scheme the preserved benefit in respect of each such period shall be calculated in accordance with article 7. Where additional long service benefit has been granted under a scheme to a member in respect of a transfer of accrued rights from another scheme where such accrued rights result from the termination of the employment to which that scheme applies the preserved benefit in respect thereof shall be calculated in accordance with article 9. A member's total preserved benefit shall be determined by aggregating the amounts of preserved benefit calculated in accordance with each such article or articles, as the case may be, that are relevant to that member.
(3) Where a period of reckonable service under a defined benefit scheme is followed by a period of reckonable service under a defined contribution scheme relating to the same employment and where the trustees apply in respect of the member concerned part of the resources of the defined benefit scheme in the making up of a payment to the defined contribution scheme, instead of calculating the preserved benefit in respect of the period of reckonable service under the defined benefit scheme in accordance with articles 5 and 6 the trustees may calculate such preserved benefit in accordance with article 8.
(4) A preserved benefit, or part thereof, determined in accordance with these Regulations shall be payable out of the resources of the scheme or schemes to which the period or periods of reckonable service relate except that, where the trustees apply in respect of the member concerned part of the resources of the scheme in the making of a payment to another scheme relating to the same employment, such part of the preserved benefit in respect of the period of reckonable service to which the payment relates shall be determined in accordance with these Regulations but shall be payable from the resources of such other scheme.
(5) Where the rate or amount of part of the long service benefit payable under a defined benefit scheme is directly determined by an amount of contribution paid by or in respect of the member, then, for the purposes of these Regulations, the scheme in so far as it relates to such part of the long service benefit shall be treated as a defined contribution scheme and, in so far as it relates to other benefits (including the remaining part of the long service benefit) shall be treated as a defined benefit scheme.
(6) Unless specified to the contrary in these Regulations the provisions of Part III and Part B of the Second Schedule of the Act shall apply to a preserved benefit calculated in accordance with these Regulations.
	Defined Benefit Scheme.	5. (1) Where the basis of calculating long service benefit does not alter between the...