Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) Regulations, 1992

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 445/1992
• Year: 1992

S.I. No. 445 of 1992.
OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES (PRESERVATION OF BENEFITS) REGULATIONS 1992.
The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 , 35 , 37 and 38 of the Pensions Act, 1990 , (No. 25 of 1990), hereby makes the following Regulations:—
	1 Citation and Commencement.	1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) Regulations, 1992.
(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1993.
	2 Definitions.	2. In these Regulations—
"The Act" means the Pensions Act, 1990 ;
"affiliated employer" means another employer where one of the employers is a subsidiary (within the meaning of Section 155 of the Companies Act, 1963 , (No. 33 of 1963)) of the other, or where both employers are subsidiaries of a third employer;
"agent" in relation to a scheme includes the actuaries, auditors and other accountants and the financial and other advisors to the scheme;
"authorised trade union" has the meaning assigned to it by section 54 (6) of the Act;
"the Board" has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (1) of the Act;
"centralised scheme" means a scheme with more than one participating employer, whether or not such an employer is an affiliated employer;
"confinement" has the meaning assigned to it by Section 28 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 ;
"notify the member" means delivering a notice to the person to whom it relates, or sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to such person at the address at which he ordinarily resides;
"temporary absence" means a period of absence by a member from relevant employment
(i) on account of the pregnancy or confinement of the
member, or
(ii) in furtherance of a trade dispute as defined in Section 8 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990 (No. 19 of 1990), or
(iii) where under the rules of the scheme a member is treated as not having ceased employment for the purposes of the scheme, or
(iv) where the period of absence is less than one month,
and
where following such absence the member resumes service in the relevant employment of the same employer;
"the nominated figure" means the figure of £3,000, or such other figure as may from time to time stand prescribed by the Minister.
	3 Transfer Payments.	3. (1) Subject to subarticle (4) of this article, for the purposes of section 35 (1) of the Act the trustees of a scheme, may effect, without the consent of the member concerned, a transfer payment from the scheme where:—
( a ) the total figure of the transfer payment from the scheme in respect of that member on the date on which the transfer is affected is less than the nominated figure, or
( b ) the Board determines that such transfer should be affected on foot of an application to it in writing by the trustees of the scheme.
(2) Where the trustees propose to effect a transfer payment in accordance with section 35 of the Act, such transfer shall not be effected unless they have notified the member concerned at least 30 days before the proposed transfer.
(3) A transfer payment in accordance with section 35 of the Act shall not be effective until the trustees have notified the member concerned of the undertaking or undertakings with whom the policies or contracts of assurance have been effected.
(4) The trustees shall not effect a transfer under subarticle (1) of this article
( a ) within a period of 2 years after the date of termination of the member's relevant employment, or
( b ) if, at the date of the proposed transfer the member concerned had made an application under section 34 (3) of the Act.
	4 Termination of employment.	4. For the purposes of section 37 (3) of the Act:—
( a ) A member's service in relevant employment shall be treated as not terminated where:—
(i) in the case of a centralised scheme a member's employment ceases and after a period of less than one month following such cessation (or such longer period as the trustees of the scheme so decide in accordance with the rules of the scheme) he commences in the relevant employment of a different employer participating in the same scheme, or
(ii) in the case of a change in ownership of the employer or of the business of the employer a member's employment ceases and after a period of less than one month following such cessation (or such longer period as the trustees of the scheme so decide in accordance with the rules of the scheme) he commences in the relevant employment of the new employer and resumes membership of the same scheme.
( b ) A member's service in relevant employment shall be treated as terminated where:—
(i) in the case of a centralised scheme a member's employment ceases and after a period of one month or more following such cessation (or such longer period as the trustees of the scheme so decide in accordance with the rules of the scheme) he commences in the relevant employment of a different employer participating in the same scheme, or
(ii) in the case of a change in ownership of the employer or of the business of the employer a member's employment ceases and after a period of one month or more following such cessation (or such longer period as the trustees of the scheme so decide in accordance with the rules of the scheme) he commences in the relevant employment of the new employer and resumes membership of the same scheme.
	5 Reckonable service.	5. (1) Where a member's employment is treated as not terminated under article 4 (a) the period of the member's reckonable service prior to the cessation of employment shall be treated as a period of reckonable service in the relevant employment of the new employer.
(2) Where a member's employment is treated as terminated under article 4 (b) the period of the member's reckonable service prior to the cessation of employment shall not be treated as a period of reckonable service in the relevant employment of the new employer.
	6 Interruption of employment—Temporary absence.	6. For the purposes of section 37 (3) of the Act where a member's employment is interrupted due to temporary absence
( a ) such member's service in relevant employment shall be treated as not being terminated, and
( b ) the period of the temporary absence shall not be treated as a period of reckonable service, unless
(i) the rules of the scheme provide that such period is a period of membership of the scheme, or,
(ii) the trustees of the scheme so decide in accordance with the rules of the scheme, or
(iii) the Maternity (Protection of Employees) Act, 1981 (No. 2 of 1981) or section 72 of the Act requires that such period is a period of membership of the scheme.
	7 Interruption of employment.	7. For the purposes of section 37 (3) of the Act where a member's employment is interrupted for reasons other than temporary absence
( a ) such member's service in relevant employment shall be treated as terminated, and
( b ) the period of a member's reckonable service prior to the interruption of employment shall not be treated as a period of membership of the scheme for the purposes of determining a member's reckonable service following the resumption of service in the relevant employment.
	8 Modification of calculation due to change in normal pensionable age.	8. (1) Where the basis of calculating long service benefit under a defined benefit scheme is altered between the commencement of Part 111 or, if later, the date of commencement of the member's relevant employment and the date of termination of the member's relevant employment and where such alteration includes a change in the member's normal pensionable age the amount of preserved benefit shall be calculated in accordance with this article instead of in accordance with Part A of the Second Schedule of the Act.
(2) In this article
"old normal pensionable age" means based on the Rules of the scheme in force immediately prior to the alteration in the basis of calculating long service benefit, the earliest age at which a member of a scheme to which this article applies was entitled to receive benefits on retirement from relevant employment disregarding any provisions under such Rules for early retirement on grounds of ill-health or otherwise;
"new normal pensionable age" means based on the...